— ^^ ^ — , 



HISTORY 

OF THE 

SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY, 

AND 

DEFENCE OF ENNISKILLEN, 

s IN 

1688 AND 1689. 



Rev. JOHN GRAHAM, M.A., 

RECTOR OF TAMLAGHTARD IJ^ THE DIOCESE OF DERRr. 



" Hail, sacred walls! while circling years shall flow, 

Or genial suns illume this vale below; 

While sparkling stars diffuse their distant light, 

And cheer with fainter beams the sable night — ■ 

While yon blue arch with sun or stars shall shine. 

Be thjne the triumph as the wo was thine; 

May all thy citizens, supremely blest, 

Unite the hero's with the patriot's breast, 

And, like their sires, unrivall'd in renown, 

Maintain our liberties, our church, and crown." 




y 



PHILADELPHIA: 

JAMES M. CAMPBELL, 98 CHESTNUT STREET, 

NEW YORK: SAXTON & MILES. 
. 1844. 



.'^ 



GrT 



^^ 



"GEAHAMS mSTOST O? THE SIEGE OP DERBY." 

I have inquired for this -work' in many bookstores, 
and have sent to New York and Boston for it by | 
persons who have, as they said, diligently sought for j 'T) n 9 ^ 
it and oonld not find it, and were, in several in-j 
stances, told it was out of print. 

There are in this country, scattered from Maine to 
Georgia, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, 
thousands of the descendants of the heroes of Derry 
and the Boyne, who cherish with fond recollections 
the traditions of their fathers in relation to the des- 
perate conflict between William III. and James II. 
and their armies, which resulted in securing to Prot- 
estants the liberty of conscieDce we now enjoy. 
Now, when Catholics ore making smch r^j . u. strides 
to power in our country, I am convinced that many 
hundi-eds of the descendants of the Scotch Irish in 
the United States would avail themselves of the pos- 
session of that old book to refresh their memories in 
regard to the cost of our liberties as Protestants and 
the valiant deeds of their fathers, if it could be pro- 
cured. P. 

T y. Mo., March U.lBm. 



John C. Clark, Printer, 60 Dock Street 



/ '* ^^■ 



TO 



THE DESCENDANTS 



HEROIC DEFENDERS 



LONDONDERRY AND ENNISKILLEN, 



THE FOLLOWING WORK 



IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 



THEIR FAITHFUL AND 



DEVOTED SERVANT, 



JOHN GRAHAM. 



Magilligan Glebe, 
January \ St, 1829. 




The Armes of the Citty of Derry were at 

FIRST, WHEN THE HoN. SiR HeNRY ^DoCWRA, KnIGHT, 
MADE THE PLANTATION THERE AGAINST THE ARCH TRAI- 

TouR Hugh sometyme Earle of Tyrone, the picture 
OF Death (or a skeleton) sitting on a mossie stone, 

and in THE DEXTER POINT A CASTLE. AnD FORASMUCH 
AS THAT CiTTY WAS SINCE MOST TRAITEROUSLY SACKED 
AND DESTROYED BY SiR CaHIRE (oR SiR ChARLES) 
O'DoGHARTY, AND HATH SINCE BEEN (aS IT WERE) 
RAISED FROM THE DEAD BY THE WORTHY UNDERTAKING 

OF THE Hon. Citty of London, in memory whereof 

IT IS from henceforth CALLED AND KNOWN BY THE 
NAME OF LoNDON-DeRRY, I HAVE, AT THE REQUEST OF 

John Rowley, now first Mayor of that Citty and 
the cummunalty of the same, set forth the same 
with an addition of a chiefe of london^ as here 
appeareth ; and for confirmation thereof, i have 
hereunto set my hand and seale this first of june, 

M.D.C.XIII. 

Dan. MoLiNEUx, Ulster King of Armes. 



PREFACE. 



The first account which appeared in print of the me- 
morable Siege of Deny, in 1689, was the Diary of it 
published by the Rev. George Walker, in the autumn of 
that year. Actively employed, at a very advanced pe- 
riod of life, in an arduous situation, for the duties of 
which he had not been prepared by education or expe- 
rience, there is more cause to wonder at the ability with 
which he discharged them, and the accuracy with w^hich 
he recorded them, than to be surprised at his deficiencies 
either as a commander or an historian. 

The address to King William and Queen Mary, pre- 
fixed to his Diary, is a masterpiece in its kind, bearing 
internal evidence of its coming from the pen of a great 
and good man. In it he boasts only of the double com- 
fort of the testimony of a good conscience, and the gra- 
cious acceptance of his services by their Majesties. He 
expresses gratitude for the royal bounty extended to 
himself, and omits not to recommend the services of his 
fellow-sufferers. He apologizes, as a churchman, for 
having acted in that service a part which might, with 
more propriety, have been done by dther hands — refers 
all honour that could accrue to him, to that great Being 

A 2 



PREFACE. 



in whose hand no instrument is weak; and with equal 
modesty and eloquence concludes by observing, that al- 
though he had shown but little art or skill in what he 
presumed to lay before their Majesties' feet, it had orna- 
ments more valuable than either— natural simplicity, 
sincerity, and plain truth. 

All these were, however, soon afterwards questioned 
with a degree of asperity perhaps unparalleled on any 
other occasion; but with all the omissions and mistakes 
charged upon his Diary, he carried away the palm of 
applause from his rivals, affording to posterity an addi- 
tional proof that an Ulysses is always an overmatch for 
an Ajax, and that the hero capable of recording his own 
actions, and wise enough to do so with modesty and 
without exaggeration, is more likel}^ to get full credit 
for his merits, than the illiterate warrior who requires 
another man^s pen to do justice to them. 

The applause which immediately followed the publi- 
cation of Walker's Diary in London was unbounded. 
The heroic author basked in a sunshine of royal and 
popular favour, seldom beaming upon the head of any 
one man at the same time, however great his worth, 
or important his services. King William's munificent 
bounty to him. Was a matter of policy as well as grati- 
tude, scarce less beneficial to the giver than to the re- 
ceiver of it. The Whigs, who were even then ready 
enoiigh to be troublesome to their deliverer, and soon 
afterwards made him weary of his crown and his life 
together, hailed it as an act which reflected equal honour 
upon both; and the celebrated Tillotson, afterwards 
Archbishop of Canterbury, thus re-echoed the voice of 
the public upon Walker's promotion to the See of Derry, 



PREPACE. Vll 

in his Letter to Lacly Russel of the 1 9th of September, 
1689:— 

" The king, besides his first bounty to Mr. Walker (£5000,) 
whose modesty is equal to his merit, hath made him Bishop of 
Londonderry, one of the best Bishoprics in Ireland. It is in- 
credible how much every body is pleased with what his Ma- 
jesty hath done in this matter, and it is no small joy to me to 
see that God directs him do so wisely." 

On the 19th of November, in the same year, he re- 
ceived the thanks of the House of Commons; and on 
the 26th of February following, the University of Ox- 
ford, with that regard to the Protestant interest which 
still characterizes it, conferred upon him the honorary 
degree of Doctor of Divinity. Sir Godfrey Kneller, at 
the king^s command, drew his picture; and copperplates 
struck off from it were dispersed through the three king- 
doms. In some of the prints he is drawn with a Bible 
open at the 20th chapter of Exodus in one hand, and a 
drawn sword in the other. His garment of a purple 
colour, and a large old fashioned band, form a strong 
contrast to the military sash appearing in crimson folds 
about his waist. A copy of this curious print hung for 
half a century over the parlour fire-place of a tavern in 
Londonderry. It was seen by the Author a few years 
ago in the possession of the late Lieutenant Walker of 
the Royal Navy, who kindly permitted him to have a 
copy taken of it. About eighty years ago, either the 
original or a copy of Kneller's portrait of the venerable 
hero was in possession of Mr. Hunter, a painter in Dub- 
lin; from it, tradition says, the likeness of Walker on 
the tapestry in the Irish House of Lords was taken. It 
was sold by Mr. Hunter to Mr. Joshua Deane, of Palace 



Vlll PREFACE. 

Row, Dublin, who claimed a collateral descent from 
Walker. In his house it remained for fifty years, and 
after his death it was purchased by John Boyd, Esq., by 
whose permission it is carried annually, on the 7th of 
December, to Morrison's hotel, in Dublin, where a nu- 
merous and highly respectable Society of the descend- 
ants of the defenders of Londonderry assemble to honour 
the glorious memory of their ancestors. Each of the 
members of this Irish Pitt Club, as it may be called, 
wears on his breast, for that night, a medal impressed 
with a likeness of Governor Walker. 

It was not to be expected that such merit should es- 
cape the shafts of envy, or that the applause or remune- 
ration it gained should not elicit censure. In this, as in 
all similar cases, the shadow pursued the substance, and 
before the close of the same eventful year, the author 
found it necessary to publish a vindication of his Diary. 
A severe rejoinder soon appeared, animadverting upon 
the failures of his account of the siege; and in a vindica- 
tion of the aspersed character of Colonel Mitchelburn, 
published in 1692, the following invidious comparison 
was made between the merits of that renowned officer 
and his reverend colleague: — 

"Though loud-tongued fame so highly has blown up the 
great renov/n of Doctor Walker in England, as truly much 
praise was due to him for having been so great an animator 
of the Protestant cause in these worst of times, which it was 
his duty to do, yet after the death of Colonel Baker, which 
happened in the height of the town's distress and deepest ca- 
lamities. Colonel Mitchelburn was in joint command with the 
Doctor, whose conduct appeared more conspicuous in the eat- 
ing part than the fighting part; and good reason, the charge 



PREFACE. IX 

of the stores and provisions being committed to him alonOj 
whilst his brother Governor was only the marshal colleague, 
and had the entire management of the town's defence." 

Mackenzie's more copious narrative was published for 
the author in London, in 1690, to rectify, as the title 
page announces, the mistakes, and supply the omissions 
of Mr. Walker's account. He states himself to have 
been chaplain to a regiment during the siege, and in a 
preface of nearly twelve octavo pages, professes "to dis- 
abuse the world," which he alleges '-had been grossly 
imposed upon in certain ridiculous attempts, not only to 
make a chief governor, but a mighty hero, of Dr. Walk- 
er, and that not only in the account of the siege pub- 
lished in his own name, but in papers of others who had 
published panegyrics upon him." He asserts, that in 
these publications "Governor Baker had been pilfered 
of several of his merited plumes, and Mr. Walker 
adorned with them." 

It would appear from Mackenzie's narrative, that 
Walker, whom he thus represents as a jackdaw covered 
with stolen feathers, had been accustomed, during his 
government, to intrigue with the enemy, and embezzle 
the public stores committed to his charge; accusations of 
such a nature as to render his continuance in office mo- 
rally impossible, had they been substantiated. The only 
result of them, according to Mackenzie's own narrative, 
was, that those who suspected Walker's intention to be- 
tray the town to the enemy, made a private agreement 
with each other to keep a good reserve for the preven- 
tion of it, and that an order of Council was issued, that 
his orders should not be accepted by the keepers of the 
stores unless when signed by the other Governor, or 



X PREFACE. 

Major Adams. With respect to these charges, the fol- 
lowing observations from a late history of the British 
Revolution, by a respectable Roman Catholic gentleman, 
may be quoted (Moore, 448 — London, 1817), supported 
as they are by Walker's own refutation of his calumnia- 
tors: — 

*' As the defence of the city rested in a great measure with 
Walker, every artifice was employed to shake the confidence 
of the garrison in their opinion of his constancy and fidelity. 
Traitors in the pay of James's generals, assuming the common 
disguise of fanatics, framed and propagated rumours calculated 
to bring both into discredit. They impudently asserted, that 
while all others in the town were reduced to absolute famine, 
he had plenty of provisions stored in his house. Walker di- 
rected some soldiers to rise, as if in a mutiny, and search his 
house in the face of the whole town. By these means he con- 
futed the calumny, and enjoyed more firmly than ever the 
confidence of the inhabitants." 

Captain Ash's Journal of the Siege did not appear 
until the year 1792, when it was published in Derry by 
his grand-daughter. It is very brief, and like Walker's 
and Mackenzie's, mentions very few of the transactions 
of the other parts of Ulster during the period of the 
siege, the knowledge of which is absolutely necessary to 
those who would fully understand the history of that in- 
teresting period. Walker, in his relation of the transac- 
tions at Derry, passes at once from the 9th of December, 
1688, to the 14th of the ensuing month of March; 
Mackenzie, from the 18th of January to the 15th of 
March; and Ash, from the 1.7th of December to the 
13th of April. Among M'Pherson's original papers 
published in 1775, there is an extract from memoirs of 



PREFACE. XI 

James II., stated to have been written by that unhappy 
prince, who is said to have kept a journal of the occur- 
rences of every day of his life. Little credit can be at- 
tached to this work, unless when supported by better 
authority; but some of the details in it may be used 
with advantage in supplying the deficiencies of the other 
narratives, particularly the letters written by the officers 
of his army during the siege. 

From all these materials compared with each other, as 
well as from the general history of the country, the ge- 
nealogy of private families of rank and property in these 
times, and every other source of information within the 
Author's reach, the following Diary has been drawn up, 
which, it is hoped, will be found much more satisfactory 
than any other account of the siege of Londonderry and 
defence of Enniskillen hitherto published. 



HISTORY 



SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY 



" Our Fathers who lived under the dread of Popery and arbitrary 
power, are, most of them, gone off the stage, and have carried with 
them the experience which we their sons stand in need of, to make 
us earnest to preserve the blessings of liberty and pure religion which 
they have bequeathed to us. Oh that I had words to represent to the 
present generation the miseries which their Fathers underwent, that I 
could describe their fears and anxieties, their restless nights and un- 
easy days, when every morning threatened to usher in the last day of 
England's liberty. Had men such a sense of the miseries of the time 
past, it would teach them what consequences they were to expect 
from any successful attempt against the present Establishment." — 
Sherlock. 

As Ireland was doomed to be the arena upon which the fate of 
the liberty of the West of Europe was to be decided, so was it 
from this island that James 11. received the first intelligence of 
the Prince of Orange's designs against him. The Earl of Tyr- 
connel obtained the earliest account of the preparations in Hol- 
land, by a ship which arrived in the bay of Dublin, and he lost 
no time in transmitting his report of it to the King. It was 
received with the utmost scorn and derision by the English 
Court; the Secretary ridiculed it in his reply to the viceroy, 
who, nevertheless, was observed to lower his tone towards the 
Protestants, and to talk of his impartiality in such a way as to 
indicate his desire to secure the confidence and intercession of 
some of them, in his apprehension of a reverse of fortune. 

B 



14 HISTORY OF THE 

Chief Justice Nugent, however, echoed the bolder sentiments 
of the Romish party, in his charge to a Grand Jury, in which 
he promised the Prince of Orange the fate of the Duke of Mon- 
mouth, and declared his conviction that the Protestant rebels 
of England would, before the expiration of one short month, 
be seen hanging in all parts of it like bunches of onions. 

The army in Ireland, at this time, amounted to eight thou- 
sand in number, and the Lord Lieutenant, in compliance with 
orders most injudiciously sent to him, transported one-half of 
them to England. — With respect to the city of Londonderry, 
this proved a most fortunate circumstance, and justly ascribed 
by Walker to the providential infatuation of the Chief Gover- 
nor's counsels. On this occasion. Lord Mountjoy's entire 
regiment, which had been quartered in and about this city, 
was withdrawn from it, and the regret of the citizens at their 
departure, on account of their reliance on the nobleman who 
commanded it, as well as on a few Protestants among the offi- 
cers and privates, may be noticed as a remarkable proof of the 
ignorance of man, in grieving at occurrences, for which he 
ought rather to rejoice. Had this regiment not been removed 
from the city, it would have been morally impossible for the 
inhabitants to resist the tyrant, and the possession of it, to- 
gether with Carrickfergus and Belfast, by the adherents of 
James, would have opened such a communication between Ire- 
land, Scotland, and the North of England, as must have frus- 
trated every attempt at accomplishing the Revolution. 

The troops which remained at the disposal of Tyrconnel 
were but a handful, compared to the Protestants capable of 
bearing arms, burning with impatience to wield them, and who 
had weapons enough in the city of Dublin alone, to enable 
them to disarm their adversaries. When they heard that 
James had sent commissioners to treat with their deliverer, it 
was with the utmost difficulty they were prevailed upon lo re- 
frain from seizing the Castle of DubUn, and making Tyrcon- 



SIEOE OF DERRY. 15 

nel, who liad only six hundred men to protect him, tiioir pri- 
soner. The constant arrival of expresses from England with 
accounts of the Prince's wonderful successes, so disheartened 
tlie Irish army, that they declared they were ready to lay down 
their arms, and satisfied to return to the condition in which 
they were during the preceding reign. Tyrconnel himself 
signified to the Protestants his desire that they would intimate 
this proposal to their friends in England, and stated that he 
was willing to resign the sword, with King James's permission, 
which he deemed it probable he would soon receive. 

The Rev. William King, afterwards successively Bishop of 
Derry and Archbishop of Dublin, was at this time President of 
the Chapter of St. Patrick's, Dublin, to the Deanery of which 
he succeeded on the 26th of January, 1689. He had already 
distinguished himself by an able reply to " The considerations 
which induced Peter Manby, Dean of Derry, to conform to the 
Popish religion," and he was now actively employed in keeping 
up a correspondence with the friends of the Prince of Orange 
in England. Encouraged by the advices which he received in 
return, he earnestly persuaded the Protestants to embrace the 
deliverance offered to them by Divine Providence, to acknow- 
ledge the Prince of Orange for their king, and to submit to his 
authority. This had a wonderful influence on the spirits of 
the people, and disposed them to a zealous defence of their re- 
ligion and civil rights. 

The Protestants, in all difficult cases, had recourse to him 
for advice how to conduct themselves in such a dangerous pre- 
dicament as that in which they stood at that crisis; and sucli 
a counsellor was then of incalculable benefit to them. Nor 
was he of less service to the Protestant cause on the other side 
of St. George's Channel, where a most powerfid body of the 
Clergy and Laity of the Established Church adhered to James, 
and had been most grossly deceived by reports indefatigably 
circulated amongst them, of the great mildness of that tyranni- 



16 HISTORY OF THE 

cal Prince's government towards the Protestants of Ireland. 
To counteract the dangerous effects of such I'epresentations, 
every where received as truth, Mr. King took the utmost care, 
by private letters, to undeceive the people of England, under- 
taking an arduous duty, at all times necessary for the preser- 
vation of the English and Protestant interest in this place, and 
never more so than at the period of our history now under 
review, if we may except the present times, when, for upwards 
of forty years, the system of delusion with respect to Ireland, 
is unhappily practised with so much success, not only in one 
of the houses of the legislature, but in the inmost recesses of 
the cabinet of the empire. 

To such a pitch was this delusion carried in Scotland, even 
after the arrival of William and the flight of James, in 1688, 
that Sir Daniel M'Donald, who came out of the Isles of Orkney 
to Dublin in the ensuing year, with several gentlemen of the 
Highlands, declared that their ministers in the pulpits had as- 
sured them that the Protestants of Ireland lived under King 
James in the greatest freedom, quiet, and security, both as to 
their properties and religion; and that if the Protestants of 
Scotland knew the truth of the matter, as they then found it 
here, they would never fight a single stroke for him. Similar 
mistakes prevailed in England at the same time, and agents 
were despatched through the coffee-houses, taverns, and other 
public places, to disseminate an opinion that the Protestants of 
Ireland lived easy and happy under Tyrconnel's government, 
while they were bleeding under the lash of his intolerable ty- 
ranny. 

In this state of public feeling in the metropolis, a letter was 
dropt at Cumber, in the County of Down, where the Earl of 
Mount- Alexander resided, dated December 3, 1688, informing 
that nobleman, that on Sunday the 9th of that month, the Irish 
throughout the whole island, in pursuance of an oath which 
they had taken, were to rise and massacre the Protestants, 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 17 

men, women, and children, and warning him to take particular 
care of himself, as a captain's commission would be the reward 
of the man who would murder him. There was no name sub- 
scribed to this letter, and the bad writing and low style of it, 
seemed to argue that it was penned by one of the lowest of the 
natives. Letters to the same purpose were written to a Mr. 
Brown, of Lisburn, Mr. Maitland, of Hillsborough, and others. 
Whether the letter to Lord Mount- Alexander was a false alarm 
or not, tLe most decided friends of the Revolution did not dis- 
pute, but all the Protestants who saw it, agreed, that in such a 
posture of their affairs, it was not a document which they ought 
to suppress, and accordingly copies of it were, on the next day, 
forwarded to Dublin by Sir W. Franklin, Arthur Upton, Esq., 
W. Coningham, Esq., and Mr. Thomas Knox, not only to 
alarm the Protestants in that city, but to give them the oppor- 
tunity of communicating the contents of it to all parts of Ire- 
land. 

Early on the day after the arrival of this intelligence in 
Dublin, upwards of three thousand terrified Protestants, desert- 
ing their bouses and their property, embarked on board ships 
which happened to be in the bay at that time, in which they 
were so crowded, that many of them were in danger of being 
suffocated. 

Tyrconnel in vain attempted to repress the tide of popular 
terror. On Sunday morning he sent two Protestant lords to 
persuade the people not to go away, and he ordered a yacht to 
bring back some of those who had gone: but all his endea- 
vours were ineffectual, they had lost all confidence in him; 
and his oaths, of which he was remarkably profuse upon all oc- 
casions, were now unable to obtain any credit from them. On 
the same day the report arrived in many of the principal towns 
in Ireland, while the Protestants were at church, and it struck 
them with such terror, that many of them broke out through 
the windows, others pushed towards the doors, regardless of 

b2 



18 HISTORY OF THE 

the danger of being crushed to death by a crowd struggling to 
escape by the same passage. Hats, caps, and shoes, were 
left behind, clothes torn to pieces, and women and children 
severely injured, by being crushed against the walls, or tram- 
pled under foot in the confusion. 

For several Sundays the Protestants carried weapons of all 
sorts with them into their churches, and even their officiating 
ministers were armed with sword and pistols in their pulpits. 
Two contending Churches were at this time literally militant 
in Ireland, and a primitive Christian, without reference to the 
justice of the cause on either side, would have wept at and 
deprecated the weapons of the warfare. 

Copies of the letter to Lord Mount-Alexander arrived in 
Enniskillen on Friday the 7th, and obtained immediate credit 
in that town, in which many persons then lived who had sur- 
vived and recollected the massacre of 1641. Letters were 
immediately despatched from the town to all the gentlemen in 
the surrounding country, requesting their assistance to repel 
two companies of foot belonging to Sir Thomas Newcomen's 
regiment, for which Tyrconnel had ordered them to provide 
quarters, but whom they were desirous to keep out, although 
there were but eighty inhabitants in the town, and they were 
not possessed of ten pounds of gunpowder, or more than 
twenty muskets in complete repair. The messengers re- 
turned to them, as might be expected, with but little encourage- 
ment, but the Enniskilleners, steady to their purpose, resolved 
not to receive the Popish garrison, and commenced the most 
active preparations for defence. 

A copy of this letter was sent by William Coningham, Esq. 
from Belfast, enclosed in one of his own, to George Canning, 
Esq. of Garvagh, in the county of Londonderry. Mr. Can- 
ning, whose father had been cruelly murdered at his own 
house in that place on the commencement of the massacre of 
1641, sent this letter with the utmost expedition to Alderman 



SIEGE OP DERRY. 19 

Tomkins, in Derry, according to the strict injunction of Mr. 
Coningham. A gentleman meeting with this messenger on 
the way, was informed of the contents of his despatches, and 
sent the information to George Phillips, of Newtown Lima- 
vady, on the sixth of December, on which day a part of the 
Earl of Antrim's new regiment arrived there, on its way to 
Londonderry. Mr. Phillips, then in his ninetieth year, with a 
promptness to be expected in a veteran highly distinguished 
through the whole of the preceding civil wars, sent a mes- 
senger at midnight to the city with an account of what had 
been communicated to him, and to acquaint his friends there 
what description of guests they were likely to have on the 
ensuing day. He wrote to them, that instead of six or eight 
companies of Irish Papists and Scottish Highlanders of the 
same religion, as had been reported, this regiment consisted of 
about double the number, attended by a multitude of women 
and boys. 

At an early hour next morning Mr. Phillips sent another 
messenger to Londonderry, expressing his increased apprehen- 
sion of the consequences of suffering this regiment to enter the 
city, and advising the citizens to look to their safety. The 
messenger who was charged with the delivery of the letter, 
told them that he had left some of the foremost companies 
within two miles of the town, the rest being on their way. 
The Alderman, with the rest of the leading men of the city, 
were in great confusion on receiving these accounts. Alderman 
Tomkins consulted Mr. Gordon, a non-conforming minister, 
who not only advised the closing of the gates, but wrote 
immediately to several neighbouring parishes to warn the Pro- 
testants of their danger, and to solicit their assistance. Alder- 
man Norman, and others, in the mean time, were consulting 
the Bishop, and found that venerable prelate cautious from 
years, and by the principles of his sacred profession, an enemy 
to resistance. Dr. Hopkins had been educated at Oxford, in 



20 HISTORY OF THE 

Calvinistic andlndependent principles, but upon the restoration 
of Charles TI. he conformed to the Church of England, and 
became an eminent preacher. Fie had at this time been nearly 
twenty years in Ireland, where he had successively occupied 
the stations of Treasurer of the See of Waterford, Dean and 
Bishop of Raphoe, from which latter he had been translated 
to the Bishopric of Derry, where he was greatly esteemed for 
his humility, modesty, hospitality, and charity. 

But the strongest incitement to the Protestants to preserve 
this their last refuge from persecution, arose from the public 
and unguarded declarations of the Romish priests in the mass- 
houses, that they had some great design in hand, whereof 
their congregations should have particular notice ; that it was 
their indispensable duty, at the peril of their salvation, to do 
whatever their priests should direct and enjoin them, requiring 
them in the mean time "to buy and furnish themselves 
WITH THE best WEAroNs THEY COULD." The storics of this 
kind which were told by some of the Papists themselves, 
gained the more credit, from its being observed through the 
whole kingdom, that not only the men, but the women and 
boys of the Romish persuasion, began to supply themselves 
vt'ith a weapon called a skein, or knife, and a kind of half- 
pike ; it being the chief employment of the smiths in the 
country to make this kin,d of arms for them. These women, 
who trained up their unhappy sons in the habit of robbery and 
bloodshed, entailed a severe curse upon the country, in the 
Rapparees, as they were called, " a sort of Irish vultures," 
says Mackenzie, " who followed the armies to finish the work 
of death, and prey upon the spoils of the field of battle." The 
frequent conferences of the Popish Clergy in the county of 
Donegal, had excited great suspicion, particularly an account 
of some violent debates said to have arisen between the priests 
and friars about the execution of some great design. A ser- 
mon preached to the Popish garrison of Derry, in the open 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 21 

market-house, in October 1688, contributed much to alarm the 
Protestants, some of whom were among the hearers. The 
subject of this sermon was Saul's treatment of the Amalekites, 
in which the preacher strongly insisted on the danger of 
sparing one of those whom heaven had devoted to destruction. 
" God," he said, " deserted Saul, and took the kingdom from 
him, and ruined both him and his family, for that very reason, 
as he certainly would punish all who should be guilty of a 
similar disobedience ; adding, that the people were always, as 
at that time, from Samuel, obliged to take their directions 
from their clergy as from God, and punctually observe the 
same at the peril of their souls." The application of all this, 
at such a juncture, was not to be mistaken even by persons of 
less sagacity than the people of Londonderry proved to be. 
Some of these ecclesiastics were observed to buy fire-arms, 
and to get chain-bridles made, a few of which were accidental- 
ly found and seized by George Phillips, Esq. The Popish 
priests* now casting away all regard for a clerical appearance, 

^ The diocese of Derry, however, furnished but few of these mili- 
tary ecclesiastics, of whom the most violent were Brian O'Hagarty, 
priest of the parishes of Fahan and Desertigney, and Francis Bradley 
of Swatteragh, the former of whom behaved so maliciously towards 
the Protestants of Fahan in 1689, that he was not suffered to return to 
it after the Revolution ; and the latter acted openly as the captain of 
a Creaght, or band of Tories, during the whole time of the troubles. 
The other priests of the Church of Rome in this diocese, were gene- 
rally kind to their Protestant neighbours in distress, particularly 
Denis O'Hagarty of Templemore, Dermott M'Tiely of Culdaff, Denis 
M'Colgan of Donagh, Roger O'Hagarty of Moville, Jeffrey O'Shields 
of Clonmany, Dennis M'Closkie of Banagher, Roger M'Closky of 
Dungiven, Isage O'Lynchachan of Lifford and Strabane, Conougher 
O'Mungan of Urney, and Termon O'Mungan, Cornelius O'Cassidy 
of Macosquin,and Patrick O'Scullen of Ballyscullen. 

This note is given on the authority of what appears to have been a 
copy of a Report to Parliament, of the character of the Romish 
Clergy in the Diocese of Derry about the commencement of the last 



22 HISTORY or the 

assumed swords and periwigs, turned military commanders, 
and exercised the new raised soldiers. All the scum and 
rascality of the country were made officers ; in every part of 
the island Papists enlisted themselves, and their priests suffered 
no man to come to mass that did not arm himself with a skein 
and an half-pike. 

By Col. Phillips' first letter from Newtown Limavady, it 
appeared that the Earl of Antrim's regiment consisted of a 
much greater numher of men than was at first supposed ; the 
companies were eight in number, instead of six, which had 
been announced, and were attended by a great number of wo- 

century. It contains the following reports of the character of the 
rest of those Priests, viz : 

CULDAFF. 

Owen M^CoIgan, a friar, a man of ill character and dissolute life, 
and very offensive to the neighbourhood for marrying people clan- 
destinely, as well Protestants as Papists. 

♦ CUMBER. 

Shane O'Cahan, reputed a most malicious, ill inclined, dangerous 
man. 

ARDSTRA. 

James O'Kellij, reckoned a very weak man. 

BADONY. 

Shane M'Jlnally, reckoned a close, subtle man, educated in Flanders, 

BALLYNASCREEN. 

Bryan O'Cassidy, aged 50 years, cunning and contentious. 

JVeill M^Comoay, aged 30, went beyond sea before 1688, came 
back again about two years ago, is reputed guardian of the Francis- 
can Friary they design to have in Ballynascreen, a close subtle fellow 
and a regular priest. 

Philip M'Htigh, a. ooYiMent dissembler; those friars reside mostly 
in Munterlony, 

MAGHERA. 

Murtagh O'Brennan, a peaceable man, minding only his meat and 

his mass. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 23 

men and boys. In a second letter he expressed his sense of 
the danger of admitting such a crew into the city, and advised 
them to take care of their own safety. The messenger who 
brought this letter said that he had left some of the foremost 
companies within two miles of the town, the rest being on their 
way. The Protestant inhabitants were terrified; several of 
them assembled in groups through the streets. The Appren- 
tice Boys, with a mob of the lower orders along wdth them, 
muttered something about shutting the gates; they got some 
private encouragement to do so at first, but that was soon re- 
tracted, and the minds of all the men of weight fluctuated in a 
miserable doubt of the most prudent course to take. In the 
mean time two companies of the unwelcome regiment arrived 
at the waterside, commanded by a Lieutenant and an Ensign. 
The officers, leaving their men there, were ferried over, and 
waited on the Deputy Mayor and the Sheriffs, with their au- 
thority for demanding admission. John Buchannan, the De- 
puty, a man secretly devoted to the interest of James, had no 
objection to give the regiment the most honourable reception, 
but Horace Kennedy, one of the Sheriffs, had given the 'Pren- 
tice Boys a secret hint during the preceding night, and they 
were at hand, prepared to shut. the gates against the regiment. 
While they were in some consultation with each other on the 
subject, the Irish soldiers, impatient at the delay of their offi- 
cers, or having, it was thought, some intimation of the nature 
of the reception intended for them, and a strong desire to frus- 
trate it, crossed the river, and appeared on the landing place, 
about three hundred yards from the ferry-gate. The young 
men of the city observing this, about eight or nine of them, 
whose names deserve to be preserved in letters of gold, viz : 
Henry Campsie, William Crookshanks, Robert Sher- 
RARD, Daniel Sherrard, Alexander Irwin, James Stew- 
art, Robert Morrisson, Alexander Coningham, Sam- 
uel Hunt, with James Spike, John Coningham, William 



24 HISTORY OF THE 

Cairns, Samuel Harvey, and some others who soon joined 
them, ran to the main guard, seized the keys after a slight 
opposition, came to the ferry-gate, drew up the bridge and 
locked the gate. Lord Antrim's soldiers having advanced with- 
in sixty yards of it. They ran to secure the other three gates, 
and having left guards at each of them, assembled in the mar- 
ket-place. 

This kindled an ardent spirit among the lower orders, and 
more youthful part of the inhabitants to defend the city, but 
there was still some opposition to the measure; the Deputy 
Mayor, strongly attached to King James's interest, attended by 
the Sheriffs, came to the market-place attended by the two 
Popish officers, and others of the same persuasion, where by 
promises and threats, they endeavoured to prevail on the 
people to throw the gates open to the king's soldiers, and they 
had taken the precaution to secure the magazine, by placing 
a guard of their own over it. The youthful heroes perceiving 
the measure, sent a party to counteract it, and Campsie, who 
led them, was wounded by a sentinel named Linegar, a repu- 
ted Papist. The circumstance of Protestant blood already 
flowing fromTa wound inflicted by such hands, at such a crisis, 
and in such a place, had an instantaneous and irresistible 
effect. It was in vain that the bishop added his remonstrances 
to those which had been already used, talked of allegiance to 
an abdicated king, and preached peace and submission. Mac- 
kenzie observes, " that the dull heads of the men of London- 
derry could not comprehend how it could be a great crime to 
shut the gates against those whom ihey believed had been sent 
to cut their throats;" and Archbishop King observed after- 
wards, "that no man could blame the youthful heroes for 
their decision on this occasion. They were startled, even at 
the external appearance of the pack of ruffians now approach- 
ing their city, attended by crowds of ferocious women and 
armed boys. Many of the captains and other officers of this 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 25 

regiment were well known there, having been long confined 
in the gaol for thefts and robberies. They came, too, at the 
time when a general massacre of the Protestants was expected, 
and appeared to have been the persons appointed for the per- 
petration of it in that place, ready, it was believed, to commit 
such villanies on command, and not likely to wait for an order 
to do so. The Deputy Mayor's remonstrances were at last 
silenced by Alderman Gervais Squire, who called him a trai- 
tor to the liberties of Ireland and the crown of England ; and 
the companies which had been indignantly waiting on the out- 
side of the gates, were soon put to flight in a very ridiculous 
manner, for one James Morrison having warned them in vain 
to be gone, called out aloud, " bring about a great gun here^'' 
when they were instantly seized with a panic fright, and hur- 
ried across the river to their disappointed companions. In 
the afternoon of this day, the gallant David Cairnes of Knock- 
many, in the County of Tyrone, a gentlem.an of high talent 
and great respectability, bred to the profession of the law, 
came into Londonderry, and expressed his approbation of what 
had been done there on that morning. He commended the 
courage of the 'Pi'entice Boys, and assured them of his utmost 
assistance. He went round the walls, and to each of the 
gates, encouraging the guards and sentinels, and after return- 
ing to the main guard again to show his full concurrence with 
them, he went to the persons of respectability in the city, to 
persuade them oftlie necGssity of their taking a similar course. 
In the evening of the same day several of them began to ap- 
pear more openly than they had previously done in the matter, 
so that at night he came to tlie guard-house with Alderman 
Norman, Mr. Jem met, the Collector, Mr. Thomas Moncrief, 
Mr. James Lennox, and several others, who there wrote many 
letters to the gentlemen of the country, to acquaint them with 
what had been done, to represent their common danger, and 
the necessity of their concurrence in the defence of the city. 

c 



26 HISTORY OF THE 

Various answers were returned, as might have been expected, 
some approving of the measure adopted, and promising their 
assistance, others discouraging what they considered to be a 
disloyal and hopeless enterprise. In the mean time, it is 
scarcely necessary to add, good guards were kept within and 
without the city, on the night of this memorable day. 

On the next day, Saturday, the eighth of December, at an 
early hour, being in want of ammunition, the guards broke 
open the magazine, and took from it one hundred and fifty 
muskets, with some quantity of match, one barrel of gunpow- 
der, and a proportionable number of balls. The magazine 
contained only eight or nine barrels of powder, of which two 
or three were unfit for use, and there were only two more in 
the city. There were but few arms in order, which had been 
prepared for Lord Antrim's regiment; the rest, in number 
about one thousand, were much out of repair. The bishop, 
unable to stem the popular torrent, retired to his former resi- 
dence, in the strong castle of Raphoe. A considerable num- 
ber of the Protestants of the neighbourhood flocked into the 
city for safety, and a rumour of a design of the Papists who re- 
mained, and the brutal conduct of the regiment at the water- 
side, drew many more of the people of the town to take an 
active part in defence of it, and accelerated the departure of 
the greatest part of the Popish inhabitants, and an entire con- 
vent of Dominican Friars. 

The appearance of an adequate posture of defence was, 
however, as yet but slight and discouraging. It appeared, on 
investigation, that those within the walls capable of bearing 
arms, did not amount to three hundred; the suburbs were not 
taken into account, but it was thought they could not furnish 
as many more. But the news which arrived from England 
this day served as a powerful incitement to exertion on the 
part of the Protestants. The morning's post brought an ac- 
count of the Prince of Denmark and the Duke of Ormond join- 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 27 

ing the Prince of Orange, with others of high rank and great 
influence in England. A discharge of two of the best guns on 
the walls, to announce the joyful intelligence, operated in strik- 
ing terror into the Irishmen and Highlanders on the other side 
of the river, many of whom had never before heard the sound 
of artillery, and their terrified wives and children expected a 
shower of grape shot to succeed the thunder which assailed 
their ears. To complete their terror, one George Cooke, a 
butcher, drew up fifty or sixty boys on the city side of the 
river, which the terrified Irish mistook for the advanced guard 
of a regiment of Laganeers. This was the denomination of a 
regiment raised during the civil wars, in that district of the 
County of Donegal, near Lough Swilly, called the Lagan, and 
famous for its victories over the rebels. The consequence 
was, that the whole of the new raised regiment, armed only 
with skeins, clubs, and other such weapons as kerns and tories 
used, with the women and children at their heels, betook them- 
selves to a precipitate flight. The officers left their boots be- 
hind them, many of them having been best used to run bare- 
footed, and the soldiers disregarded the incumbrance of their 
coats, in their eagerness to escape from an enemy still sepa- 
rated from them by a broad and rapid river. 

Their Colonel, the Earl of Antrim, then seventy-three years 
of age, a veteran in courts and camps, accompanied by Mr. 
Phillips, of Newtown Limavady, met the panic struck regi- 
ment about a mile from the spot from which they had taken 
their flight, and having heard a very alarming story from 
them, thought fit to stop there and send forward Mr. Phillips 
to bring him word from the city, whether he would be admit- 
ted there, and who commanded the garrison. It was with 
some difHculty that this venerable messenger was admitted, as 
coming from the enemy, although he had rendered an essential 
service to the city already, and had been Governor of it and 
the fort of Culmore during the civil wars. But it soon appear» 



28 



llISTOTiY OF THE 



ing that he was inclined to join them in their defence, the guard 
which they had placed over him was removed, but upon his 
own request to David Cairns, then in command, he was pub- 
licly threatened with confinement if he did not concur with 
them. 

Mr. Phillips then wrote to inform the Earl of Antrim that 
he had been detained in the city, and to discourage him from 
approaching towards it, and that nobleman returned to Cole- 
raine to rally his scattered regiment. 

In the mean time it was thought prudent that a letter should 
be written to Lord Mountjoy, in whom they had great confi- 
dence, informing him of what had been done, and requesting 
his interposition with Lord Tyrconnel on their behalf. A copy 
of this document is given at the end of Mackenzie's Narrative, 
and it breathes but little of the spirit which animated the 
defenders of the citj^ On the same day there was a meeting 
of the nobility and gentry of the north-east of Ulster, who 
had a short time before associated themselves for the defence 
of their liberties and lives. They called themselves the Antrim 
Association; Lord Massareen's name stands at the head of 
their spirited resolutions. They ntDw sent an address to the 
Prince of Orange, and intrusted the delivery of it to James 
Hamilton, of Bangor, Esq., and a Mr. Osborne, each of whom 
afterwards raised a regiment in defence of the Protestant 
interest. 

The dreaded Sunday passed over without any attempts on 
the part of the Romish population to carry the design imputed 
to them into execution. Whether it was ever formed or not 
remains a profound mystery ; but there can be no manner of 
doubt that they were making active preparations for civil war, 
in which they were equalled, if not outstripped, by the alarmed 
Protestants of Ulster. 

On Monday the tenth, Captain Forv/ard and Mr. William 
Stewart brought two or three hundred horsemen into London- 



SIEGE OP DERRY. 29 

derry, and Mr. John Cowan, of St» Johnstown, a company of 
fool, which they offered for the pubhc service. David Cairnes 
was unanimously chosen to be an agent in London for the dis- 
tressed Protestants, and together with letters credential to the 
Prince of Orange's Secretary, the principal magistrates and 
commanders in the city gave him a letter to the London So- 
cietyj stating what had happened, and imploring their assist- 
ance, concluding in the following energetic manner : — " We 
most humbly and heartily beseech you, as you are men of 
bowels and charity, to assist this gentleman, how best you 
can, to secure us from the common danger, and that we may 
peaceably live, obeying his Majesty and the laws, doing injury 
to no man, nor wishing it to any. Your interest here is now 
no argument worthy to engage you : the lives of thousands of 
innocent men, women, and children, are at stake. If you can 
and will not now afford your help to the utmost, we shall 
never be able to use a motive to induce you, or to prevail upon 
you. May the Lord send deliverance to us, and preserve you 
all in peace." The letter was signed first by George Phillips, 
who had re-assumed his old office as Governor of the city; 
Campsie, Norman, Tompkins, and others, also affixed their 
signatures (o it. Cairnes was also supplied with a private key 
for the purpose of carrying on a secret correspondence. 

On the same day the people of the town were formed into 
six companies, under the command of the following officers: — 

1st — Captain Samuel Norman, Lieutenant William Crookshanks, 
and Ensign Alexander Irwin. 

2d — Captain Alexander Lecky, Lieutenant James Lenox, and En- 
sign John Harvey. 

3d — Captain Matthew Cocken, Lieutenant Henry Long, and Ensign 
Francis Hunt. 

4th — Captain Warham Jemmet, Lieutenant Robert Morrison, and 
Ensign Daniel Sherrard. 

5th — Captain John Tomkins, Lieutenant James Spaight, and En- 
sign Alexander Cunningham. 

c 2 



80 HISTORY OF THE 

6th — Captain Thomas Moncrief, Lieutenant James MorrisoHj and 
Ensign William Macky. 

On Tuesday the 11th Mr. Cairnes set out for London, and 
on the same day Governor Phillips went to Newtown Lima- 
. vady, where he raised two or three hundred horse, with which 
he returned in a few days. William Hamilton, of Mayagh, 
brought in two or three hundred more, who tendered their ser- 
vices to the general cause. 

In the mean time, the Irish in all places were assembled in 
great bodies, killing the cattle of the Protestants, and stealing 
one or two hundred at once in a night, so that many substan- 
tial gentlemen, who had been the owners of several hundreds 
of black cattle and sheep had not one left, and for forty miles 
together in the province of Munster, the Irish cabins were full 
of beef stolen from the Protestants, which they did not so much 
as strew salt upon, but hung it up in the smoke, so that the 
best of it looked and smelled like carrion. It was computed 
that in nine days the Irish stole eleven thousand head of cattle 
in that one province, and at length, to complete the miseries of 
those exposed to this cruel persecution, their houses were rob- 
bed and pillaged, so that many who had lived in great plenty 
and hospitality, now v/anted the common necessaries of life, 
and had nothing left to preserve them from starving. 

The province of Connaught was in a state equally deplora- 
ble, and about this time several of the Protestant gentlemen of 
the counties of Sligo and Roscommon, fled with their families 
into Enniskillen ; among these were Thomas Lloyd and Daniel 
Hudson, Esqrs., the former of whom signalized himself as 
Colonel of one of the regiments embodied there. 

On Thursday the 13th of December, news arrived in Ennis- 
killen that the two companies of foot, whose presence they so 
much feared, were on their march tov/ards them, and on Fri- 
day the 14th, that they had arrived in Clones, vv^ithin eighteen 
miles of them. The townsmen then sent asain to all their 



SIEGE OF DERBY. 31 

neighbours, beseeching ihem to come to their relief, and offer- 
ing them free quarters for man and horse. Upon this, many 
came into the town, resolved to stand firm to the last extremity, 
in defence of their lives and the Protestant religion. 

Upon Saturday the 15th of December, the men of Enniski!- 
len wrote the following letter, directed to David Cairnes, Esq. 
or the other officers commanding in Londonderry: — - 

" Gentlemen :— The frequent intelligence we have from all parts of 
this kingdom, of a general massacre of the Protestants, and two com- 
panies of foot of Sir Thomas Newcomen's regiment, viz : Captain Nii- 
gent's and Captain Shurloe's, being upon their march to garrison here, 
and now within ten miles, hath put us upon the resolution of refusing 
them entrance ; our design being only to preserve our own lives, and 
the lives of our neighbours, this being the most considerable pass be- 
tween Connaught and Ulster; and hearing of your resolutions, v^^e 
thought it convenient to impart this to j^ou, as likewise to beg your 
assistance both in your advice and relief, especially in helping us v/ith 
some powder, and in carrying on a correspondence with us hereafter, 
as we shall, with God's assistance, do with you, whicli is all at pre- 
sent, Gentleraenj from your faithful friends and fellow-christians. 

'• The Inhabitants or EniN'iskillen. 

'' From Emiisliillca, Deccralcr 15, 1C88. 

*' We are not now in a condition to spare men for a guard, therefore 
ijiust entreat your assistance in that. 

'' Allen Cathcart, '• Archibald Hamilton, 

William Browning, Malcome Cathcart, 

Thomas Shore, James Ewart, 

William Smith, Robert Clarke." 

On this day, being Saturday, the two companies came to 
Maguire's Bridge, on their way to Enniskillen, and within 
eight miles of it. On Sund^ the 1 6th, at ten o'clock, word 
was brought into the town that they were upon their march, 
and arrived at Lisbellavr. Most of the inhabitants of the town 
were in church at tliat time, but soon came out, and got under 
arms, resolved to advance and meet the enemy. On beinn- 
drawn out they were found to amount to about two hundred 



32 J> HISTORY OP THE 

infantry, and one hundred and fifty horse. Of these a few 
were sent before the rest to parley with the companies, and 
dissuade them from advancing, and they brought ale and some 
provisions to treat them in case of a compliance. Gustavus 
Hamilton, Esq., afterwards their Governor, joined them this 
day, with about one hundred horsemen, within a mile of the 
town, and at the same time a report reached them that the two 
companies advancing towards them had several horse-loads of 
spare arms with them, for the purpose of arming some of the 
multitudes of the Popish peasantry who flocked to them from 
all quarters. 

The Enniskillen horse now advanced towards these compa- 
nies and their tumultuous adherents, and a view of them was 
sufficient to drive the whole rabble in confusion and precipitate 
flight back to Maguire's Bridge. The officers of the two com- 
panies were at dinner in a gentleman's house, at some little 
distance from their men, when this happened, but they hastened 
to overtake them and outstrip them in their flight. On the 
next day, Monday 17th, the fugitives arrived in Cavan, where 
they staid in great fear of the Enniskillen men, till they re- 
ceived orders from Tyrconnel to march into other quarters. 

On the 18th of December, Gustavus Hamilton, Esq., was 
unanimously chosen Governor of Enniskillen. He imme- 
diately gave orders to raise two companies of foot in and 
about the town, under the command of Captains Allen and 
Malcolm Cathcart, and in a few days he formed a good troop 
of horse for himself from his own estate and the neighbour- 
hood of it, providing them with all the arms and necessaries 
he could procure for them. He then removed his family from 
their dwelling house into the ca^le of Enniskillen. 

The month of January, 1689, was spent by the men of En- 
niskillen in the most active preparations for the defence of 
their town. They raised several additional troops of horse 
and companies of foot, in which they were much encouraged 



:^IEGE OF DERRY. 33 

by hearing of the unfortunate James havhig disbanded his 
armV) deserted his kingdom, and fled into France. The of- 
ficers used the utmost endeavours to get all the fire-arms 
which they could procure into a thorough state oT repair; 
they caused a great number of pikes to be made, and beat out 
many old scythes, and fixed them on poles, by which means, 
in a very short time, the few foot then raised were in a tolera- 
ble posture of defence. When about twelve companies and 
some few troops were thus raised and armed, they were 
formed into a regiment, of which the Governor was appointed 
Colonel, and Thomas Lloyd, Esq., Lieutenant Colonel. 

At this time the Prince of Orange, in compliance with the 
request of both Houses of Parliament in England, and of the 
Protestants of Ireland, summoned the Earl of Tyrconnel, by 
a letter, to submit to the existing Administration in England. 
The delivery of the letter was entrusted to Colonel Flamilton, 
who promised to second it with his persuasions; but it was 
afterwards known that he acted an underhand part, and used 
his utmost endeavours to prevent the Viceroy from complying 
with it. 

The Irish Lords, at the same time, pressed Tyrconnel to 
surrender the Government, and he had already packed up 
most of his valuable effects, and put some of his treasure on 
board a ship in which it was supposed he intended to leave 
the kingdom. It was, hov/ever, suspected that he meant, by 
these indications, only to gain time and perfect the new levies 
which he was already en^acred in makins?; and thes 



g,..g..v. ... ...M..xw^, c...^ .....^ suspi- 



cions were confirmed by his privately issuing five hundred 
military commissions in one da}^ On the 4th of this month 
the gentlemen of the county of Sligo associated themselves, 
choosing Robert Lord Kingston and Captain Childley Coote 
the chief commanders. They then formed their force into 
troops and companies, and stationed them on the frontiers of 



34 HISTORY OP THE 

their county to hold correspondence with Londonderry and 
adjacent places. 

The issuing of so many commissions by Tyrconnel, for the 
purpose of raising an Irish army, continued to alarm the Pro- 
testants in all parts of Ulster, who were confirmed in their 
resolution of putting themselves in the best possible state for 
defending themselves. They held several consultations with 
each other, and some great men advised and encouraged them 
to take care of themselves in this manner. One of these, 
whose name he does not mention, left some instructions for 
the Rev. George Walker, Rector of Donaghmore and Erigle, 
in the County of Tyrone, recommending the necessity of se- 
curing the town of Dungannon by a Protestant garrison, and 
of securing a sufficient store of provisions in it for an emer- 
gency. Mr. Walker, although at an advanced period of life, 
having been twenty -six years Rector of these Parishes, thought 
it not only excusable, but necessary, to interest himself on this 
occasion, and he raised a regiment for the defence of that 
town. Gordon, the son of the rebel chief. Sir Phehm O'Neil, 
sent his Priest to inquire why Mr. Walker took this course; 
and the ecclesiastic returned with an answer, that so many 
Irish, as the Ulster Protestants denominated Papists, had armed 
themselves in the country, and that he and his people thought 
fit to put themselves in a posture of defence. The new raised 
regiment, complaining of want of gunpowder, were deceived 
by a stratagem, which induced them to believe that a suf- 
ficiency of it had been provided for them, and so were induced 
to take charge of the post assigned to them. 

In order to regain possession of Londonderry, Lord Tyr- 
connel now ordered Lord Mountjoy and Lieutenant-Colonel 
Lundy, with six companies of their regiment, to march from 
Dublin and take possession of it. A notice of this order was 
privately sent to the men of Derry by some of their friends in 
the metropolis, who added a strong caution against the admis- 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 35 

sion of the regiment into the city. When Lord Mountjoy 
came to Omagh, he sent Captain M'Causland with a message 
to Derry, desiring that two or three of the citizens should 
meet him at Raphoe ; upon which Captain Norman and Mr. 
John Mogredge were sent to hear his proposals, who, on their 
return, gave an assurance of the authenticity of the powers 
vested in Lord Mountjoy, and strongly advised a capitulation, 
in return for a free and general pardon for all that had passed. 
Lord Mountjoy having objected to those who had been sent to 
him for not having had power to treat with him, charging 
them, on their return, to inform the citizens that he desired 
they would send commissioners to meet him at Mongevlin 
Castle, near St. Johnstown. Accordingly Governor Phillips, 
with Captain Alexander Tomkins, and Lieutenant Jas. Lenox, 
were empowered by the city to conclude a treaty with him. 
The terms they agreed to were, their getting a Protestant gar- 
rison, with liberty to keep their watches and arms as formerly, 
and also a free pardon under the great seal. These terms 
were, however, rejected, and Lord Mountjoy dismissed them, 
saying, that he would go to the gates of the city the next 
morning, and demand entrance. On the return of the com- 
missioners the stores were examined, and found to contain 
only six barrels of gunpowder, a few arms out of repair, most 
of the guns being unmounted for want of carriages. On the 
arrival of Lord Mountjoy, he was delayed for some time out- 
side the gate, while a strong altercation took place on the pro- 
priety of admitting him; but the personal esteem in which he 
was so generally held there, prevailed, and he was at length 
suffered to enter. His earnest endeavours to effect an accom- 
modation were not disregarded by the town's people, and an 
agreement was made with them on their own terms, time 
enough to prevent any more forces being sent against them 
for the present. The commissioners on the part of the city 
were Governor Phillips, Horace Kennedy, Esq., Captain Alex. 



36 HISTORY OF THE 

Lecky, Captain Warham Jemmett, Captain John Forward, 
Captain George Canning, Lieutenant Henry Long, Lieu- 
tenant James Lenox, William Cunningham, and James Stew- 
art, Esqrs. 

On the signing of the articles, Lundy was, for the better 
satisfaction of the citizens, sent to Strabane to stop his six 
companies there, till one-half of them, being Papists, should be 
dismissed, and some officers of the city were sent to see this 
done, and Protestants enlisted in their stead. There were, 
however, but two of these companies received into Derry un- 
der the command of Colonel Lundy and Captain Stewart, all 
of them Protestants. The other four companies, one-half of 
which consisted of Papists, were ordered to quarter at Stra- 
bane, Newtown-Stewart, and Raphoe, till thoroughly reformed. 
On these satisfactory measures being adopted, the citizens were 
fully satisfied that their interest might be safely entrusted to 
Lord Mountjoy, and Phillips resigned the government of it 
into his hands. 

The new and noble governor immediately ordered the car- 
riages of the guns to be placed, the fire-arms to be repaired, 
and every other necessary measure for the safety of the place 
to be adopted. Money was levied for this purpose by sub- 
scription, and a coynmittee chosen for the expenditure of it. 
In a short time afterwards, Lord Massareene contributed a 
considerable sum of money towards the defence of the city, 
and when the enemy afterv/ards v/ere approaching the city, 
the garrison seized sixty tons of salmon, this nobleman's pro- 
perty, which had been deposited in a store-house near them, 
and carried it all away, except forty barrels v/hich fell into 
the hands of the besiegers. The money thus raised was sent 
into Scotland by* Mr. James Hamilton, a merchant, to buy 
gunpov/der and arms. H^e was able to provide only fortj^-two 
barrels of gunpowder, which, except ten of them left in the 
county of Down, arrived safe, and were secured in the maga- 



SJLEGE OF DERR5f. 37 

zine. They also seized a small vessel which had been sent 
from Dublin with thirty barrels of gunpowder for the Earl of 
Antrim, and lay wind-bound in the harbour at Killogh, in the 
county of Down. Ten of these they left in good hands for the 
country's service there, and brouglit the remainder to Derry. 
All this was, however, too small a quantity for the emergency 
which they expected, and pressing letters were despatched to 
their agents at London, to apply there for a greater supply. 

Tyrconnel now perceiving that he had fallen into a second 
error with respect to the citadel of civil and religious liberty 
in Ulster, by sending back Lord Mountjoy to command a gar- 
rison in it, devised a base stratagem, by the aid of Chief Ba- 
ron Rice, and Neagle, the Attorney- General, to deprive the 
Protestants of the support they were likely to derive from the 
talent and valour of this nobleman. He was ordered to i^- 
turn to Dublin, which he did, in opposition to the entreaties 
of many of his friends, who assured him, as was really the 
case, that the proposal of sending him to France on an errand 
to the fugitive king, was all a piece of artifice contrived to get 
him out of the way. He did not proceed on his fatal embassy, 
however, until he had obtained from Tyrconnel these general 
concessions to the Protestants: — 1st, That no more commis- 
sions should be given out, and no more men raised. 2d, That 
no more of the army should be sent to the North. 3d, That 
none should be questioned for what was past: and 4th, That 
no private house should be obliged to quarter soldiers. These 
terms were sent through all Ireland by letters, yet Lord 
Mountjoy was scarcely gone when the faithless viceroy de- 
nied he had granted them, and was angry at their having been 
published. In a very short time afterwards, news arrived 
that Lord Mountjoy was made a prisoner and sent to the Bas- 
tile, and this exasperated the Protestants to a degree which 
rapidly accelerated the ruin of the Popish interest in Ireland. 

About this time the Rev. George Walker rode to London- 



38 HISTORY OF THE 

derry to consult Colonel Lundy on the defence of Dungannon, 
to which the latter, then in high repute for experience in war, 
and zeal for the Protestant interest, sent some files of disci- 
plined men and two troops of dragoons, highly approving 
of what had been done for the safety of that place. It does 
not appear, even by Walker's own account, that he had been 
in Derry before this time. On the 30th of this month, the 
castle of Kenagh, in the County of Longford, belonging to Sir 
Thomas Newcomen, in which some Protestants had taken re- 
fuge, surrendered upon articles to Brigadier Nugent, who was 
soon afterwards killed by the Enniskilleners at Cavan. One 
of the articles was for the goods belonging to those in the 
house, and their friends, notwithstanding which, Nugent seized 
and took away several parcels of goods, and many of those 
who were in the castle were plundered and stripped naked. 
Another article was that the mansion house of Kenagh should 
not be burned or injured; notwithstanding which, it was burn- 
ed to the ground by Colonel Cohannaught Maguire. These 
perfidious acts rendered the Protestants desperate, and all who 
could avail themselves of the resource, moved towards the 
province of Ulster, to make the last stand among their intre- 
pid fellow sufferers there. About the same time thirty soldiers 
deserted from Dublin, and endeavoured to escape to Enniskil- 
len. They were pursued by one Captain Nugent with a party 
of horse, and overtaken near Navan. They put themselves 
in a posture of defence, and were ready to fire at him and his 
party, but he persuaded them by fair promises to yield to him 
upon articles, without any other loss than that of their arms; 
but as soon as they gave them up, he stripped and pinioned 
them, and it was by much interest that they escaped death, 
being reserved in a gaol until a more convenient time for exe- 
cuting them should arrive. 

On the 22d of this month, the Presbyterian ministers of Ire- 
land, on behalf of themselves and their congregations, sent an 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 39 

address to the Prince of Orange, assuring him of their readi- 
ness to serve his interest to the utmost of their power. It was 
intrusted to two of their members, viz : — Messrs. Patrick Adair 
and John Abernethy. This was their second address to that 
prince, to whom, on his arrival, they had been the first to offer 
their congratulations and expressions of zeal for the success of 
his glorious undertaking* 

On the 28th of this month, the Enniskilleners sent Mr. 
Hugh Hamilton, and Mr. Allen Cathcart, two of the most ac- 
tive men amongst them, with an address to the Prince of 
Orange, and with full power and instructions to act for them 
at the court of England, to solicit for commissions, arms, am- 
munition, and money for the defence of the place. They were 
ordered to make their way by Scotland, for their greater safe- 
ty, and letters were sent by them to the Earl of Mount Alex- 
ander and the associated nobility and gentry of the north-east 
of Ulster, imploring their advice and assistance. Tyrconnel 
now ordered Colonel Lundy to bring the remaining four com- 
panies into Londonderry, which had been left at Strabane, 
Newtown Stewart, and Raphoe, and had not been cleared of 
the Popish soldiers, of which one-half of them consisted. The 
Derry men, rather than lose so many serviceable muskets, 
were induced to receive them, when with their usual spirit and 
prudence they purged out the Papists, and supplied their place 
with Protestants, resolving to keep joint guards by detachments 
out of these six companies, and their own steady men. Upon 
this being reported to the viceroy, he issued a proclamation to 
all parts of Ulster, forbidding the Protestants to assemble toge- 
ther, by way of troops or companies, &c. ; but the objects of 
his hostility were too sensible of the necessity of defending 
themselves, to pay any great deference to such a command. 
It was treated with particular contempt at Londonderry, v/here 
Lundy's management of affairs began to excite rhuch displea- 
sure. Contrary to the consent of the committee for the city, 



40 HISTOKY OF THE 

he had chosen a Colonel and Major to his regiment : he soon 
after forbade the city companies to keep tlieir guards, refused 
them ammunition, and when upon a remonstrance being made 
he restored the guards, he would allow but one city officer to 
each, and endeavoured to bring them under the command of 
his own officers. 

Soon after the departure of Lord Mountjoy, a French engi- 
neer landed at Cork, and travelled with all expedition to Dub- 
lin, assuring Tyrconnel that King James would be suddenly 
with him, and that nothing was to be feared from England for 
several months. All men had recollected the error of Charles 
II. in not coming into Ireland during the civil w^ars, and there- 
fore on the arrival of this news the aspect of affairs quickly 
altered. The hopes which had hitherto supported the spirits 
of the Protestants now utterly vanished. Despair occupied 
their place, and they associated themselves in all places, get- 
ting into castles and other places of strength for the preserva- 
tion of their lives. Those who had already taken strong po- 
sitions, and put themselves in a condition to make a defence, 
were now commanded by proclamation to return to their re- 
spective homes, on pain of being prosecuted for high treason. 
Matters at last came to such an extremity, that the Protestants 
were driven to a state of warfare, on the principle of self-pre- 
servation, and Lord Kingston, Sir Arthur Rawdon, and others, 
endeavoured to secure some strong holds in which they might 
hope to make a stand against their persecutors. But matters 
.were so indiscreetly managed, and the vigilance of their ene- 
mies was so great, that all their efforts proved fruitless ; their 
inconsiderable forces were soon defeated, and almost all the 
Protestants throughout the kingdom, except those of London- 
derry and Enniskiilen, were disarmed in a very short space of 
time. The gates were shut up in cities and towns, and none 
were suffered to pass through them without being strictly 
searched for arms. The houses were examined, and plate 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 41 

and money seized and carried away as well as arms. The 
horses of the gentlemen and farmers were seized for the king's 
service, and brought into the garrison towns, where the Popish 
soldiers lived at free quarters in the houses of Protestants, by 
which these unfortunate people were reduced to such a state, 
that many of them were not left a morsel to eat or a bed to 
rest upon. 

Matters, however, wore a better appearance in England at 
this time; for on the 28th of this month (January), the Par- 
liament of England resolved, that "King James IT. having en- 
deavoured to subvert the Constitution of the Kingdom, by 
breaking the original compact between the king and the people, 
and by the advice of Jesuits and other wicked persons, having 
violated the fundamental laws, and having withdrawn himself 
out of the kingdom, had abdicated the throne, which was 
thereby becom-C vacant." 

The next day the Commons voted, that it had been found 
by experience to be inconsistent with the Protestant kingdom 
of England to be governed by a Popish Prince; and they also 
presented an address to the Prince of Orange. 

Tyrconnei, in the meanwhile, continued his violence against 
the Protestants of Ireland, and the acts of all his subordinate 
agents were characterized by a degree of treachery inseparable 
from cruelty. Among many other instances of a similar 
usage of Protestant gentlemen, the treatment of Captain Bar^ 
ton, of Carrickmacross, in the County of Monaghan, has been, 
recorded by Archbishop King. This gentleman had a protec- 
tion for his house and arms at that place, and had left his ser- 
vants in it, while he remained in Dublin as an hostage to the 
government, which suspected him of a design to join the Pro- 
testants in arms at Londonderry or Enniskillen, then at open 
war against them ; yet in his absence, a party of Colonel Mac 
Mahon's regiment went to the house about the first of Febru- 
ary, in this year, and demanded the possession of it. The ser- 

D 2 



42 HISTORY OF THE 

vanls showed their protection, and told the officer commanding 
the soldiers, that they had orders from the Government to 
keep the house. The commander assured them that he would 
not disturb them, and that he only designed to lodge some of 
his men in it, to secure it more effectually for the king and 
the owner. Upon which promise the servants let him and his 
men into the house. As soon as they had got entrance, they 
began to plunder, destroy, and deface whatever they did not 
take away with them, and in a few hours, by ruining his im- 
provements, and robbing him of stock, furniture, and other 
moveables, they injured him nearly to the value of ten thou- 
sand pounds. He complained to the Government of this 
treacherous and cruel treatment, but could obtain no redress; 
new injuries were added to those already inflicted upon him, 
and at last his house was burned to the ground. 

The month of February was spent by the Enniskilleners in 
meetings and negotiations with Colonel Lundy and the leading 
men of the counties of Londonderry, Tyrone, Donegal, Cavan, 
and other parts of the country. The Protestants of the north- 
east counties had, as already noticed, entered into associations 
for securing the Protestant religion, their lives, liberties, and 
properties, and now orders were issued that the Protestants in 
the north-west of Ulster should form themselves into troops 
and companies, and afterwards into regiments ; and all agreed 
that in case of extremity they should submit to the command 
of Colonel Lundy, whose reputation stood very high for con- 
duct and experience in military affairs, but whose treachery 
and cowardice they at that time had not so much as suspected. 
The gentlemen of the county of Fermanagh held a meeting, 
at which they resolved to raise two regiments of foot, and a 
regiment of horse; but the Rev. Andrew Hamilton, in his 
account of the actions of the Enniskillen men, says, that by 
reason of the backwardness to the service, manitested by some 
of these gentlemen, those regiments were not raised, so that the 



SIEGE OP DERRY. 43 

great stress of the country, as he terms it, was left upon the 
Governor of Enniskillen, and those gentlemen who adhered 
to him. 

On the first of this month the English House of Lords re- 
jected a motion to place the Prince and Princess of Orange on 
the throne. The majority on this occasion was only five in 
number, and the rejection of this measure, which was so soon 
afterwards adopted, arose from an artful party among the 
Lords, which aimed at rendering the settlement of the Govern- 
ment impracticable in any other way than recalling king 
James and his infant son ; measures odious to the great body 
of the Protestants of the nation, who had so severely smarted 
under the tyranny of the father, and who very generally sup- 
posed the son to be a supposititious child, thrust into the suc- 
cession to the throne by a Jesuitical device. A petition was 
drawn up in London, to be presented to the Lords, desiring, in 
plain terms, that the Prince and Princess of Orange should be 
settled on the throne, and signatures of a multitude of persons 
of all ranks and descriptions appeared to it, so that it might 
fairly be considered as an expression of the general sense of 
the people. But the Prince, with his characteristic nobleness 
of soul, scorning this mode of proceeding, sent orders to the 
Lord Mayor to put a stop to this tumultuous proceeding, which 
was accordingly done. After several debates, and the prin- 
cess's refusal to be queen alone, it was at last agreed upon by 
both Houses of Parliament, that the Prince and Princess of 
Orange should be king and queen of England. On the twelfth 
of this month the Princess arrived in England, well pleased at 
what had been done, and the strict union of sentiment and 
affection between her and her illustrious husband, entirely 
frustrated the designs of a powerful party, which had hoped, 
by causing a misunderstanding between them, to find occasion 
to serve their old master. On the next day, William and 
Mary being seated on two large chairs under a canopy of state 



44 HISTORY OF THE 

in the banqueting-house, both Houses of Convocation waited 
upon them in a full body, and after a declaration of the rights 
of British subjects was read to them, the Speaker of the House 
of Lords made a solemn tender of the crown to their High- 
nesses, in the name of both houses of Parliament. The 
answer of the Prince was such as became him, brief and 
heroic ; he acknowledged the offer to be the greatest proof of 
the trust reposed in his royal consort and himself. He ac- 
cepted it thankfully, observing, that as he had no other inten- 
tion in coming to England than to preserve the religion, laws, 
and liberties of the realm, they might be assured that he would 
endeavour to support them, and be willing to concur in every 
measure for the advancement of the welfare and glory of the 
nation. A burst of acclamation resounded through the House 
on the conclusion of this speech ; it flew with electric rapidity 
over the city, was re-echoed with joy through the three king- 
doms, and on the same day they were proclaimed king and 
queen of Great Britain, France, and Ireland. 

In the mean time the Romish party in Ireland was en- 
couraged in their intolerable aggressions on the Protestants, 
by daily reports of the landing of King James at Cork. 
Almost every post brought a false alarm of the tyrant's 
arrival — bonfires were made, and guns discharged in several 
garrison towns, in honour of an event looked upon as the 
finishing stroke to all opposition to the dominion of Popery in 
the island. 

Early as it was in the year. General Hamilton was sent 
with an army into Ulster, and the judges entered on that cir- 
cuit a full month before the usual time of the spring assizes. 
The pretext for this extraordinary measure, was, to punish the 
thieves and robbers who had plundered the Protestants, but the 
design was to condemn these poor men of the reformed reli- 
gion, who had taken up arms to defend their houses against 
these villains, and also to extort from them the means of sup- 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 45 

porting that army which had been raised for their destruction, 
there being at that time, from a ruinous management of the 
public affairs, little or no money left in the exchequer. These 
judges, immediately after opening their commission, read a 
letter from the Government to the principal men in each of the 
counties, and to the Protestant Minister and Popish Priest of 
every parish, requiring them to summon the inhabitants of 
each parish together, and cause them to subscribe to the utmost 
of their ability for the subsistence of the king's forces, assuring 
them, that his Majesty would soon be at the head of his loyal 
subjects, in Ireland, with a considerable assistance from the 
King of France, and that they who had no money should send 
in meal, malt, beef, cheese, butter, herrings, leather, brogues, 
stockings, wool, cloth, linen, or any other articles of provision 
or clothing which the country afforded. By this crafty 
measure, the Protestants were exposed to inevitable ruin, and 
the little they had left was now drawn from them for the 
maintenance of their persecutors. General Richard Hamilton, 
who commanded the army sent to the north at this time, and 
who afterwards became so distinguished in the war which 
ensued, was the fifth son of the gallant Sir George Hamilton, 
of Donalonge, in the county of Tyrone, and Nenagh, in the 
county of Tipperary — an officer whose services in the cause 
of Charles I. as Colonel of a regiment of foot, had been emi- 
nently conspicuous, and were highly rewarded. 

The war was now commenced against the Protestants, and 
prosecuted in all directions with vigour proportioned to the 
fears of Tyrconnel, and the apprehension of the Popish Clergy, 
that unless their crusade against the reformed faith were 
brought to a termination in a short time, the opportunity of 
regaining their lost ascendancy would be gone for ever. At 
the same time that Hamilton marched for the north, Lord 
Galmoy, afterwards so notorious for his perfidy and cruelty, 
was sent with a strong body of forces to guard the passes be- 



46 HISTORY OF THE 

tween Connaught and Ulster, for the purpose of preventing 
the Protestants on the western side of the Shannon from join- 
ing their more numerous friends in the northern counties. He 
was the son and successor of Edward, second Viscount Gal- 
moy. On the 6th of August, 1677, he was created Chancellor 
of the University of Oxford; he first commanded a troop of 
horse in the Royal Guards, and was afterwards Colonel of foot 
in James's new raised Irish army ; he was also Lord Lieuten- 
ant of the county of Kilkenny. One of his dragoons, on their 
march to the north, met with the wife of a clergyman, who 
had fled to Derry or Enniskillen, and according to the dreadful 
report recorded in Burton's History of Ireland, several of them, 
one after another, ravished her, and afterwards cut open her 
body, leaving it exposed in a most savage manner, along with 
the body of a dead man. About the same time, a Protestant 
gentleman, in the county of Tipperary, seeing some of Tyr- 
connel's dragoons coming towards his house late in the even- 
ing, shut and barred his doors, as if the family had retired to 
bed. Upon this, sixteen of them advanced to the hall door, 
and not being quickly admitted, they broke it open, calling the 
owner of the house a traitor for shutting it against the king's 
troops. They then pillaged the house of all the valuable 
articles in it, and, horrid to relate, they violated the gentle- 
man's only daughter before his face. Thirteen of the ruffians 
abused her while she was expiring, and three of them after 
she was actually dead. Such, at this melancholy time in 
Ireland, was the dominion of that povver which exalts itself 
against God. 

The Protestants of the West County of Cork had for the 
three preceding years been severely persecuted by their Popish 
neighbours; they were robbed and plundered of their furniture 
and cattle in the open day-light, which terrified them so much, 
that leaving their homes and the little they had left in them, 
they now flocked into walled towns for the preservation of 



" SIEGE OF DERRY. 47 

their lives: the Irish, in this triumph, grew so insolent, that 
they went in great bodies through the country, with pipers 
playing before them, and gathered in the remains of the pro- 
perty of the unhappy objects of their fury. These robberies 
appeared, from the confession of Chief Justice Nugent, to be 
designed by the Government, and he boasted of the policy of 
such a proceeding. At the assizes of Cork, he publicly called 
such robberies necessary evils, and from the beginning he 
took no care to suppress them. On the twenty-eighth day of 
February, in this year, the Protestants of Bandon, hearing that 
the Earl of Clancarty was marching with six companies to re'^ 
inforce the troop of horse and two companies of foot there, 
commanded by Captain Daniel O'Neil, disarmed the garrison, 
killed some soldiers, took possession of all their horses and 
arms, and v/ould have done much more had they been as- 
sisted. They shut their gates, and generously refused to give 
up any of their leaders, but at last purchased their pardon for 
a thousand pounds, 'with the demolition of their walls, which 
were then razed to the ground, and have never since been 
built. In a letter of the first of March, preserved among Sir 
Richard Cox's manuscripts, Tyrconnel expresses his sorrow 
that this treaty had been made until the authors of this dis- 
turbance were punished. 

The chief actor in disarming the Popish garrison at Bandon, 
on this occasion, was William Fortescue, of Newrath, in the 
county of Louth, a Captain in the Earl of Clancarty's regi- 
ment of foot. After James's abdication, he associated himself 
with the Earl of Inchiquin and other Protestants of the pro- 
vince of Munster, for self-preservation, and on this, their first 
success, they proclaimed King William and Queen Mary. 
This service exposed Captain Fortescue to the resentment of 
the Irish, by whom he was afterwards a very great sufferer; 
for the Earls of Inchiquin, Barrymore, and others, being de- 
prived of their commissions, he narrowly escaped with con- 



48 HISTORY OF THE 

ditions for his life, in the surrender of Mallow, upon articles 
with Lieutenant-General Mac Carthy ; and the Earl of Clan- 
carty, in mere prejudice to his firm adherence to the Protes- 
tant interest, not only detained above an hundred and fifty 
pounds of his money, wfiich he got into his hands, but soon 
afterwards, in breach of his articles, robbed him of two hun- 
dred pounds worth of his substance, and committed him to the 
gaol of Cork, among thieves and vagabonds, where he kept 
him in restraint above eleven months, with daily threats of 
death, refusing him all subsistence, bail, or exchange. This 
same Clancarty, on his march towards Derry with his regi- 
ment, commanded the companies disarmed at Bandon by Cap- 
tain Fortescue, to revenge themselves, by plundering his house 
in the county of Louth, while he lay in gaol an hundred and 
thirty miles distant. They took away all his stock and goods 
to the amount of fifteen hundred pounds, burned and destroyed 
his dwelling house and improvements, stripped his family, and 
left them so miserably exposed, that some of his children died 
of the severe usage they received. 

This gallant gentleman was son of Sir Thomas Fortescue, 
of Dromiskin, knight, who was cashiered by Tyrconnel from 
the government of Carrickfergus, and committed a prisoner to 
the castle of Dublin, where he lay confined, with many other 
noblemen and military officers, until they were released in 
consequence of the victory at the Boyne. In the mean time, 
the Protestants of the north-east of Ulster proclaimed King 
William and Queen Mary in the principal towns of that dis- 
trict. They made an unsuccessful attempt to reduce Carrick- 
fergus, and after their refusal to obey a proclamation to lay 
down their arms. General Hamilton advanced against them 
with a considerable body of troops. They retired from Newry 
to Dromore, where they were overtaken and routed by the 
enemy, who, being greatly superior in numbers, slaughtered 
them most unmercifully in the pursuit. They stopped at 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 49 

Hillsborough, but were soon obliged to fly from the town and 
castle in which they had posted themselves, and continued 
their precipitate retreat. About four thousand of them, kept 
together by the spirited exertions of Lord Mount Alexander 
and Sir Arthur Rawdon, reached Coleraine, and took their 
station there, in order to prevent the enemy from crossing the 
river Bann; and at the same time, the Protestants of the 
north-west of Ulster poured into Enniskillen and Londonderry 
as their last places of refuge. 

About this time a large party of the Popish horse and foot 
suddenly entered Cork at midnight, and disarmed all the Pro= 
testants of that city. The next da}^ they seized all their 
horses, and broke into the houses of several of the principal 
citizens, whom they robbed of great sums of money. Similar 
outrages were committed in the neighbouring towns. Lieu- 
tenant-General Mac Carthy having thus, with the spoil of the 
Protestants, increased his horse, and added to the number and 
equipments of his I'bot, marched with two field pieces towards 
Castlemartyr. the seat of Colonel Henry Boyle, who had with 
him there about an hundred and forty gentlemen and servants, 
to defend themselves against the attacks of the Papists. He 
was persuaded by his friends to make no resistance, on the 
promise of the Lieutenant-General that neither their persons 
nor estates should be molested; but without any regard to this 
promise, the house was plundered, and Colonel Boyle, with 
many of the gentlemen he had with him, were carried prison- 
ers to Cork. 

On Wednesday, the twelfth of March, King James landed 
at Kinsale, and proceeded to Cork, where, on Sunday, the six- 
teenth of the same month, he heard mass in a new chapel 
erected there by the Franciscan Friars. As the Royal bigot 
passed through the streets on his way to the mass-house, he 
was supported by two of these friars, and attended by many 
others in their habits. He was received and entertained by 



50 HISTORY OF THE 

Donough, Earl of Clancarty, who was made one of the Lords 
of the Bedchamber, and appointed to the command of a regi- 
ment in the Royal Guards, and also Clerk of the Crown and 
Peace throughout the Province of Munster. Tyrconnel met 
his Royal master in Cork, who immediately created him a 
Duke for his services, and the life of a Protestant magistrate, 
one Brown, a gentleman worth five hundred pounds a year in 
that county, v/as sacrificed on the occasion. Brown had been 
in arms against the Rapparees, and as the assizes were going 
on when the king arrived, he put himself on his trial, expect- 
ing, that in case of his condemnation, the royal visit would in- 
sure him a pardon. But in this he was sadly mistaken ; far 
from being wise or humane enough to begin with such an act 
of mercy, if not justice, the deluded monarch gave an appal- 
ling proof of the cruelty of his disposition, by leaving the un- 
fortunate gentleman to his fate, who was immediately hanged 
and quartered. 

In the mean lime, about three thousand of the Irish being 
garrisoned in the Fort of Charlemont, and attempting to plun- 
der the Protestants in the neighbourhood of Armagh, Lord 
Blaney had frequent skirmishes with them, in which he con- 
stantly prevailed, to their great loss, until the thirteenth of 
March, when being informed that his castle of Monaghan had 
been taken by the Rapparees, and that all the Protestant 
forces in that quarter had retreated to Glasslough, where they 
were closely besieged by the enemy, and hearing, also, that 
Sir Arthur Rawdon had quitted Loughbrickland, and that the 
Irish army under General Hamilton had possessed themselves 
of that place, he called a council of war, in which it was re- 
solved to march the next day to relieve their friends in Glass- 
lough, and afterwards to proceed with them through Dungan- 
non, to join those who had already retreated into the County 
of Antrim ; but Lady Blaney and the Protestants shut up in 
Glasslough were relieved, in the mean time, by the valour of 



SIEGE OP DERllY, 61 

Matthew Anketell, Esq., who had suddenly collected two 
troops of horse and three companies of foot. The Irish had 
entrenched themselves in a Danish fort situated on a com- 
manding eminence^ and from this position kept up a heavy fire 
on the Protestants who advanced against them. Anketell, 
however, intrepidly led his gallant band into the fort, from 
which he dislodged his terrified adversaries, and pursued them 
with slaughter; but he was slain himself in the hour of vic- 
tory. Mfijor John M'Kenna, who commanded six hundred of 
the Irish on this occasion, was taken prisoner, with his son, 
and eighty-nine of his men left dead on the field. It was with 
difficulty that the victors were prevailed upon not to sully their 
glory by murdering the captive chieftain, in revenge for the 
death of their beloved Anketell, M'hose remains were buried 
with great solemnity in the aisle of the church of Glasslough, 
where a plain tombstone in the floor records his untimely 
death in maintenance of the Protestant religion. After the 
battle, Lady Blaney and her party escaped to Londonderry 
with two troops of horse and three companies of foot. 

The Protestant Association having, in the meafi time, re- 
ceived fresh assurances of support from England, proclaimed 
King William and Queen Mary in the north-eastern towns of 
Ulster, and even ventured to make an attack upon the Castle 
of Carrickfergus, in which, however, they were unsuccessful; 
and after General Hamilton, as already mentioned, had driven 
them from Newry, Dromore, and Hillsborough, Lord Mount 
Alexander and Sir Arthur Rawdon kept four thousand men in 
arms at Coleraine, while those of the north-west district sought 
refuge either in Enniskillen or Londonderry. 

On the fourteenth of this mont^' Count Lauzun and the 
Marquis de Lery landed at Kinsale with five thousand French 
troops, and King James sent back as many Irish under the 
command of Major-General Macarty. Lord Blaney kept pos- 
session of the city of Armagh, after his lady had escaped to 



52 HISTORY OF THE 

Derry, until he was nearly surrounded on all sides by strong 
parties of the enemy. He had been promised reinforcements 
by Governor Lundy from Derry, but being disappointed in 
them, he resolved to march on the Tyrone and Londonderry 
side of Lough Neagh, and the lower Bann, to Coleraine, with 
his little army, consisting of seven troops of horse and eight 
companies of foot. With a view to intercept him, twelve hun- 
dred men were rapidly hurried forward from the forts of Char- 
lemont and Mountjoy, to seize the pass at Artrea bridge, and 
five hundred more were despatched to attack him in the rear. 
Lord Blaney, however, reached the bridge about a quarter of 
an hour before his opponents arrived there, where he halted, 
gave battle, and killed one hundred and fifty of them, driving 
many others into the river, where they were drowned. The 
rest fell back in confusion, and he made good his masterly re- 
treat to Coleraine. Some companies of his army, however, 
which had endeavoured to escape on the eastern side of the 
lake, were not so fortunate; they were overpowered and dis- 
armed near the town of Antrim. On the sixteenth, the Ennis- 
killen men, who five days before had proclaimed King William 
and Queen Mary with great solemnity, received an account 
that the garrison of Dungannon was deserted by order of 
Colonel Lundy, and that they, and all the inhabitants in the 
country about Dungannon, had fled towards Strabane and 
Londonderry. At the same time, their Governor received 
letters from Lundy, acquainting him, that it was concluded by 
their Committee, to order all the forces in the north-west of 
Ulster to draw towards Derry and the Lagan, for the purpose 
of making their stand on the Donegal side of the Fin water; 
the letter contained a ver^hnelancholy account of the condition 
of the garrison of Derry. The Enniskillen men, however, re- 
solved not to forsake their town, and their heroic maintenance 
of that important pass between Connaught and Ulster, con- 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 53 

tributed in an eminent degree to the security of Derry and the 
country about it. 

Two days after the arrival of the French forces in Kinsale, 
Sir Thomas Southwell and his brother, and a considerable 
number of other Protestants, were brought to trial in Gal way, 
before Judge Martin. The charge against them was, that upon 
the surrender of Mallow, they had attempted to force their way 
to join Lord Kingston, then at Sligo, in arms against King 
James. It appeared that in their journey they had several 
skirmishes with the Irish, without any considerable loss, until 
James Power, the Sheriff of Galway, hearing of their approach 
towards that part of the country, raised the posse comitatvs 
and attacked them in a narrow pass, to which they had been 
led by the emissaries he had sent as guides to them. They 
surrendered to him, on conditions that on giving up a stipulated 
proportion of their horses and arms, they should have passes, 
protections, and a convoy, if necessary. They were brought 
that night to Loughrea, for convenience of lodging, and on the 
next morning, instead of obtaining a convoy, which the Irish 
had agreed to give them, they were secured by strong guards, 
and informed that they could not be released until the pleasure 
of government should be known, to which it was alleged that 
a favourable statement of their case had been made. Sir 
Thomas immediately despatched a gentleman to Dublin, to 
petition the State for a performance of the articles of sur- 
render; the suit was rejected without hesitation, and they 
were removed to the county court-house of Galway, where 
they remained in a deplorable condition until they were now 
brought to trial. Judge Martin, to save the trouble of a trial, 
prevailed on them to plead guilty, assuring them of the lenity 
of King James, then newly arrived in Ireland ,• they did so, 
and of course were convicted, and the next day he sentenced 
them all to death. They had no subsistence whatever but 
from the Protestants of the town, and after a fortnight's impri- 

E 2 



54 HISTORY OF THE 

sonment, received a reprieve for a month : this was renewed 
for three months, and afterwards for six, on a promise from 
their friends to obtain an equal number of Popish prisoners 
from England, in exchange. In the course of their imprison- 
ment, some of them were accused of attempting an escape, on 
which the Earl of Clanrickard sent them word by his Major, 
that as they had abused the king's mercy, and held corres- 
pondence with the northern rebels, he commanded them to 
prepare for that death which they had a second time deserved. 
They remonstrated by petition ; he replied, on Friday, that 
though he would permit them to send no message to the king, 
he would give them time to repent. This answer caused them 
to give up all hopes of life, and they were assured that the en- 
suing Monday or Tuesday was appointed for their execution. 
On Monday morning they were alarmed with the noise of 
many drums, which they took for the signal of their execu- 
tion, and whilst preparing for it in the common hall, they were 
offered their lives, if they renounced the Protestant religion. 
They however unanimously resolved to die in the faith for 
which they had already suffered so much, and in a short time 
afterwards. Colonel Mac Donnel, Governor of the town, sent 
them word to be of good courage, for that all that had passed 
was only a frolic of Lord Clanrickard's to frighten them into 
belter manners and greater sobriety. After the ineffectual 
efforts of the Earl of Seaforth to obtain their pardon, they re- 
mained in custody until the second of January, in the ensuing 
year. It may be reckoned among the " ludihria rerum^'^ that 
a noble descendant of this Sir Thomas Southwell should ex- 
change the Protestant for the Popish religion, although more 
than twenty noble Irish families have renounced the errors of 
the Church of Rome since the Revolution. 

In this month, under the authority of an order from Tyr- 
connel, the officers of the Irish army seized the goods, houses, 
lands, and other substance, of all the Protestants who had fled 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 55 

out of Ireland, or were absentees from it, from minority, bad 
health, or other causes. 

On the twenty-fourth of March, James made his public entry 
into Dublin in a triumphant manner, attended by a long train 
of British, French, and Irish, together with Count D'Avaux, 
the French ambassador. The magistrates of the city, and the 
Popish ecclesiastics, met him in their proper habits, with the 
host borne before them in solemn procession. The king 
bowed down before it, and made his adoration, amidst the 
acclamations of a surrounding multitude. He took an early 
opportunity of dismissing the only two Protestants of rank or 
distinction in his army, merely on account of their religion; 
he refused the gallant Sarsfield commissions for two of that 
officer's Protestant relatives, saying, that he would trust none 
of their religion ; and on coming out from mass, immediately 
after his arrival in the metropolis, was heard to say, that " a 
Protestant stunk in his nostrils." Pie had now a second op- 
portunity of manifesting the cruelty of his disposition, and the 
rooted hatred he entertained to Protestants. The v/ife of a man 
named Maxwell, who had been condemned to death for defend- 
ing his house in the Queen's County against the Rapparees, 
presented a petition to him to pardon her husband ; she had, 
by her piteous cries, prevailed upon the sheriff to grant her a 
reprieve for fifteen days, contrary to the order of the cruel 
Lord Galmoy, and she now appeared before the king in the 
most lamentable condition, having four or five small children 
along with her, all in tears. She delivered her petition on her 
knees, praying his Majesty to pardon, or even reprieve her 
husband for a short time. Many of the Irish nobility were 
present, and, struck with the woful appearance of the woman 
and her weeping children, seconded her request with great 
earnestness; but the reply of the brute was, ^' tvoman, your 
husband shall die^ The sheriff received a rebuke for his 
humanity, and was commanded to hang the man immediately, 



56 HISTORY OF THE 

which was accordingly done. This example added a stimulus 
to the fury of the Romish soldiers against the Protestants, who 
were treated in the city, and under the immediate eye of the 
government, in the most barbarous manner. No Protestant 
could be out of his house after sunset, without danger of his 
life,- several of them were assassinated, and among them a 
poor tapster of an ale-house on the Wood Quay, who was 
thrown into the Liffey and drowned, merely as a frolic, and no 
notice whatever taken of it. Richard Burton, who records 
this and other cruelties practised at that time in Dublin, ob- 
serves, that considering the example of James, and the hatred 
of the Romish ecclesiastics to the Protestants, it appears to 
have been evidently providential that a general massacre was 
not attempted, as it had been in 1641. 

In the midst of this cruel exercise of " brief authority," the 
tyrant's heart was desponding, nor could the utmost syco- 
phancy of the addresses which were poured in upon him, dis- 
sipate his fears. He beheld with dismay, the undisciplined, 
half armed ruffians, whom Tyrconnel had collected and vainly 
endeavoured to form into an army. No stores of ammunition 
or provision, of any consequence, had been provided, and little 
more than eight hundred muskets could be found in any of the 
depositories. There was not one piece of battering cannon 
mounted through the whole island. His field artillery did not 
exceed twelve pieces, and he had only two small mortars in a 
condition for use. His first care after his arrival in Dublin 
and ordering the execution of the Carlow Protestant, was to 
set the people at work to make arms for his troops, but all the 
workmen he could procure were Protestants, and he com- 
plained, probably with reason, that they worked unwillingly 
and interposed as many difficulties and delays as they possibly 
could. There was also a scarcity of tools and implements of 
every kind, so that no more than fifty muskets could be manu- 
factured in a week. He was also in a miserable state for 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 57 

want of money, and found it difficult to provide pay for his 
army, although he had reduced it to the number of thirty 
thousand men, by the dismissal of a multitude of non-efficient 
men which Tyrconnel had indiscreetly added to it. The 
whole amount of the money given to him by the king of 
France was four hundred thousand crowns, and the country, 
already destroyed by the depredations of his soldiers, was no 
longer able to maintain them by plunder. James was in a 
wretched condition now; on the one hand he was assailed by 
the complaints of rude men and angry officers, the latter of a 
class little superior to the former ; and on the other he was 
controlled in all his designs and actions by Count D'Avaux, 
who, in the capacity of an ambassador sent with him from 
rrance, was in reality a spy upon all his measures, which he 
resolved to turn to the advantage of his own ambitious master. 
This foreigner was associated with the Duke of Tyrconnel and 
Lord Melford, in a council, where every matter relating to 
Ireland was debated, and from them nominally, but from 
D'Avaux, in reality, every decision proceeded. With the 
view of injuring England in her staple manufacture, this coun- 
cil prohibited the exportation of Irish wool into it, allowing it 
at the same time to be exported into France. In return for 
their wool, the Irish were to receive back from France her 
manufactured cloth, her wines, and other luxuries, duty free. 
A blind hatred to England and the Protestant religion, pre- 
vented the Popish multitude from seeing the ruinous tendency 
of such a commercial arrangement, and their bigoted king, a 
pensioner of France, dared not to breathe a remonstrance 
against them-. 

On the twentieth of March all the Protestants of the county 
of Cavan, in wretched stormy weather, and in great disorder, 
ran towards Enniskillen and the villages in its neighbourhood, 
to the great surprise of the inhabitants of that part of the 
country. Three troops of horse, and as many companies of 



58 HISTORY OP THE 

foot, led the way, and then the whole Protestant population, 
men, women, and children followed, covered to their middle 
with clay or mud, crying bitterly, and with little or no provi- 
sions to support them. The Governor of Enniskillen ordered 
them free quarters for man and horse; a considerable propor- 
tion of them were tolerably well armed, and the gallant Ennis- 
killen men were glad of their assistance. On inquiry, it was 
found that the treachery of Lundy, the false governor of Lon- 
donderry, had persuaded these people to abandon several 
strong holds, of which they had possession, and the immediate 
cause of their precipitate flight was the approach of Lord Gal- 
moy, with the army which Tyrconnel had sent under his com- 
mand towards the passes between the provinces of Connaught 
and Ulster. On the arrival of the army in the county of Ca- 
van, they surprised the house of Mr. Dixy, Dean of Kilmore, 
and took the dean's son prisoner, along with Cornet Edward 
Charleton, and about eight or ten of the troopers of whom 
young Dixy was captain. On hearing this news, all the gar- 
risons in the neighbourhood broke up, some setting fire to their 
houses, and the whole of the Protestants fled towards Ennis- 
killen. Lord Galmoy then advanced to Belturbet, and on the 
day after his arrival at that place sent a party to besiege Crom 
Castle, then garrisoned by a considerable number of Protestants 
under the command of Colonel Creighton, ancestor of the pre- 
sent Earl of Erne. 

It was situated on the lake, about sixteen miles from Ennis- 
killen, and had been the frontier garrison of that town on the 
Dublin side. The walls of the castle were strong, but it had 
no outwork, fortification, nor fosse, and it was commanded by 
hills within musket shot of it. Galmoy, either in derision, or 
to frighten the inexperienced garrison by a false appearance, 
sent two pieces of cannon made of tin, near a yard long in the 
chase, and about eight inches wide, strongly bound about by a 
small cord, and covered with a sort of buckram, in colour re- 



SIEGE OF DERRY. ' 59 

sembling that of a piece of cannon. These he drew with eight 
horses each, nnaking a great noise as if they were drawn with 
much difficulty. As soon as they came before Crom, he 
threatened to batter the castle with them, but he was fool 
enough to attempt a discharge from one of them, which bursted 
it and wounded the gunner, upon which the garrison made a 
sally, seized the other and carried it away upon a man's 
shoulder. A hot fire then commenced from the castle, which 
killed several of the besiegers, but did not dislodge them from 
their position. On the twenty-second of March, Lord Galmoy 
summoned the garrison of Enniskillen to surrender, and re- 
ceived for answer that King William and Queen Mary had 
been proclaimed there on the eleventh of that month, and that 
they would not only stand upon their own defence, but send 
what means they could to relieve Crom Castle. 

On the arrival of the northern army at Coleraine, they sent 
immediate notice of the circumstance to Colonel Lundy at 
Derry, and in a day or two afterwards several of their officers 
went to advise with the false Governor what measures were 
most advisable to be taken. They met Lundy on their way, 
within a few miles of Newtown Limavady, and he turned back 
with them to Coleraine. He there declared that he had no 
ammunition to spare for the defence of that place, and advised 
the garrison to quit it as soon as it should be attacked. He 
added, that though the powder was scarce with him, he had 
provisions sufficient for a year's consumption, and signified 
his intention to bring all the stacks of corn and hay in the 
surrounding country into Derry; but this he never attempted 
to do. , v^ 

Immediately after the conference, Lundy walked towards 
the bridge, but the mob there already suspected his fidelity, 
imagined he was about to desert, and drew up the bridge, while 
the guard presented their muskets and pikes at him. On the 
twentieth of this month a ravelin was ordered by the com- 



60 • III^TOHY OF THE 

mander to be built before Bishops'-gate, at Londonderry, and 
the money was advanced for that purpose; several sums were 
also raised there for the use of the defenders of Coleraine, and 
resolutions were entered into that the garrisons of both places 
v/ould stand together and succour each other. 

On the twenty-first Captain James Hamilton arrived in 
Londonderry from England, with four hundred and eighty 
barrels of gunpowder, and arras for two thousand men, with a 
commission from the king for Colonel Lundy, and a con- 
siderable sum of money for the garrison. The kingj|ind queen 
were this day proclaimed in Londonderry with great solemnity, 
the Bishop having returned from Raphoe, and being present on 
the joyful occasion. Captain Hamilton, who was charged 
with this acceptable errand, v/as the nephew of Brigadier- 
General Richard Hamilton, then advancing v/ith King James's 
army to besiege Londonderry. Lie was the son of Colonel 
Hamilton, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Culpepper, 
of Hollingbourne, in Kent. The estates of Donelong and 
Mongevelin, in the vicinity of Derry, belonging to this branch 
of the Hamilton family ; and this gallant officer, who declining 
the. title of Baronet, which had descended to him from his 
grandfather, was usually called Captain Hamilton, succeeded 
in the year 1700 to the title of Earl of Abercorn, and was the 
ancestor of the present noble Marquis. 

Among the resolute Protestants who had sought refuge in 
Derry, were many daring and active spirits who had marched 
from Armagh with a very gallant officer, John Cochran, of 
Tyross. Besides these were Henry Cust, whose descendants 
afterwards settled in Magilligan, whfere the family is still to be 
found; with them went Cochran's valiant friend Robert Pooler, 
James Stiles, ancestor of an emancipating Baronet now resi- 
dent in Donegal, and like the Marquis of Downshire, Earl of 
Charlemont, Messrs. Dawson, Brownlow, and other descend- 
ants of the persecuted Protestants of the seventeenth century, 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 61 

are endeavouring to unmuzzle the wolves which had been 
rendered harmless by their wiser ancestors. 

Along with these heroes went John and William Cross, of 
Dartan, maternal ancestors of the Author of these Memoirs, 
and whose descendants in the county of Armagh still happily 
cherish the principles to which under heaven they owe so much 
of v/hat must be dear to all men in time or eternity. 

In a part of the poem just mentioned, says Dr. Stuart, 
Oochran is spoken of as signalizing himself in a very gallant 
and honourable manner, in an engagement near Pennyburn 
Mill, and in a desperate sortie from the walls of Derry. His 
name is annexed to the address to King William and Queen 
Mary, which Walker presented to the victorious sovereigns 
immediately after the raising of the siege. He survived the 
war, and returned to his farm, where he died suddenly in one 
of I^ own fields. He was found dead, with his sword half 
drawn. His body was found by one of his old companions in 
arms, who is said to have exclaimed on the melancholy occa- 
sion, that " Death had talien him treacherously,^'' adding, 
" that if John Cochran had hut time to draw the remainder 
of the sword from its scabbard, he would have killed Death 
himself.^'' The historian of Armagh quotes these antiquated 
lines in reply : — 

" Who killed Kildare, who dared Kildare to kill, 
Death killed Kildare, who dare kill whom he will." 

The lines in the Armagh Poem which celebrate Cochran, 
are these : — 

" In a few hours Cochran revenge demands, 
Who in the lines, with a battalion stands, 
Brave Wilson, and M'Cullagh gives his aid, 
And in their ranks a horrid slaughter made." 

A sun-dial and .some platcbelonging to Captain Cochran, 



62 HISTORY OF THE 

and bearing his name, were dug up about thirty-five years 
ago in Bally rath. 

Robert Pooler, of Tyross, in almost every sortie made by 
the famous Murray, and other adventurous commanders, was 
always in the thickest of the battle, and yet escaped unhurt. 
When, however, the garrison had received the joyful informa- 
tion that the Irish army had commenced its retreat by night, 
this gallant soldier looked through an embrasure on the city 
battlements, in hope of witnessing its final departure. At that 
moment a random shot, discharged by some of the flying foe 
who had loitered in the rear, struck him on the head, and 
killed him on the spot. Some of the descendants of Coch- 
ran and Pooler, true blues, all reside still in Armagh and 
Newry. 

Captain Hamilton's instructions were to summon the Mayor 
of Londonderry, and all the officers, civil and militc^, to 
come on board his ship, and in their presence to administer to 
Colonel Lundy the oath of fidelity to King William and Queen 
Mary. Walker is silent as to this circumstance, and Macken- 
zie alleges that the oath was administered either very privately 
or not at all. When required next day by the committee and 
officers of the city to take this oath, Lundy refused to do so, 
pleading that he had taken it on the preceding day in Captain 
Hamilton's ship. Mr. Charles Hamilton, Mr. William Stew- 
art, and some others, refused to swear the oath, but the Mayor, 
Sheriffs, Aldermen, and all the oflicers, were sworn. The 
precise sum of money brought by Captain Hamilton was not 
known; Mackenzie insinuates that it was not applied to the 
purposes for which it was intended, but as no complaint on 
this head is recorded by any other writer, little credit is due to 
this aspersion of the character of Captain Hamilton, who, in 
recompense of his distinguished services on this occasion, was 
called to the privy council by King William, and created 
Baron of Mountcastle and Viscount Strabane. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 63 

On Saturday, the twenty-third of March, many of the Pro- 
testants of the county of Cavan left Enniskillen and proceeded 
on their way to Londonderry, in obedience to the orders of 
Colonel Lundy. In the afternoon of the same day, the En- 
niskillen forces, horse and foot, were reviewed by the Gover- 
nor on the common hill near the town, where they remained 
all day under arm_s, expecting the approach of Lord Galmoy 
and his army. Towards evening, however, scouts arrived 
with intelligence that Galmoy had advanced no farther on his 
march than to Lissnaskea, a village ten miles from Enniskil- 
len, from which, on hearing of the intentions of the men of the 
latter place to meet him on his march towards them, he fell 
back with his men to the siege of Crom Castle. On the night 
of that day, Governor Hamilton sent about two hundred of the 
best armed men in Enniskillen towards Crom, partly by land 
and partly by water, in the hope to throw, if possible, a rein- 
forcement into the besieged fortress. This they accomplished 
next day, after some feeble opposition from the enemy, who, 
being but wretched marksmen, did no other execution on them 
than killing one old boatman, while the defect of the artillery 
in the castle was supplied by long fowling-pieces with double 
rests, such as had been long in use round Lough Erne for the 
purpose of killing wild-fowl. Lord Galmoy was reconnoiter- 
ing the castle from a hill nearly a mile distant from the scene 
of action, at this time, and as he stood with a glass of wine in 
his hand, toasting confusion to the rebels of Crom, an expert 
fowler from the battlements leveled his gun and fired at him 
with such precision, as to break the glass in his lordship's 
hand and kill the man who stood near him. In the mean 
time, two hundred of the Enniskilleners forced their way into 
the castle, from which the garrison instantly sallied out with 
them, and drove the besiegers from their trenches, killing 
thirty or forty of them, and plundering it of two suits of ar- 
mour, the muskets of the dead, and several other articles of 



64 HISTORY OF THE 

value. Galmoy retired to Beltiirbet, where he vented the fury 
of his soul in such a way at his disappointment, as to sink his 
character to the level of the lowest of his species that ever dis- 
graced human nature, and warranted Oldmixon, in his Me- 
moirs of Ireland, to brand him to posterity as an infamous 
wretch whom no titles could honour. 

There was, at this time, a prisoner in Crom Castle, one 
Brian Mac Conagher Mac Guire, who had been a captain in 
King James's army. Lord Galmoy wished for his release, 
and on the day after the raising of the siege sent an express 
to Captain Oreighton, proposing to exchange Captain Dixy for 
him, pledging his honour, that if Maguire was sent to him he 
would return Dixy for him without delay. An express v^-as 
instantly despatched to Enniskillen for permission to make the 
exchange, which was obtained, and Mac Guire was sent to 
Lord Galmoy, with a letter from Colonel Creighton, desiring 
that Captain Dixy might be returned to him according to en- 
gagement. Instead of fulfilling his promise, Galmoy called a 
council of war, and put Captain Dixy and his lieutenant, 
Charleton, on trial for high treason, and they were condemned 
to death, promises of life and preferment being made to them 
if they would renounce the Protestant religion and join King 
James's army. They were both young men, but they firmly 
rejected the base oflfer, and wisely preferred death to disho- 
nourable hfe. Mac Guire, who had been given in exchange 
for Dixy, warmly interposed in behalf of the prisoners, and 
was so disgusted at being unable to save their lives, though at 
the expense of his own liberty, which he generously offered to 
resign for them, that he resigned his commission, returned to 
Crom, and would serve King James no longer. Galmoy, in 
the mean time, deaf to every remonstrance made to him, 
caused the unfortunate young gentlemen to be hanged on Mr. 
Russel's sign-post, in Belturbet, and when they were dead, 
commanded their bodies to be taken into the kitchen of the 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 65 

inn, had both their heads cut off and thrown out to the sol- 
diers, who kicked them through the street as foot-balls. When 
the ruffians had sufficiently gratified themselves and their 
brutal commander by this barbarous sport, the heads were set 
up on the market-house of Belturbet. Galmoy marched in a 
few days afterwards, with his army, towards Derry, and pass- 
ing through Tyrone, perpetrated another act of cruelty, of 
more than usual enormity. It is recorded in Burton's rare 
and curious History of the Kingdom of Ireland — "At Omagh 
he took two men, on pretence of their having taken up arms 
for their own defence; they were father and son. He first 
caused the son to hang his father, and carry his head on a 
pole through the streets, crying, ' this is the head of a traitor,' 
and then the young man himself was hanged." 

On the twenty-third, Colonel Phillips was sent to England 
with an address to the king, and to solicit a supply of ammu- 
nition and other necessaries. 

On the twenty-fourth, Colonel Gustavus Hamilton called a 
council of war at Coleraine, and represented to the officers that 
a want of ammunition had rendered it necessary for them to 
retire into Derry, which they were about to do, when some 
squadrons of the enemy's horse appearing before the town, 
they repaired, with their whole force, to the ramparts, from 
which a Tew shots repulsed the enemy. Lundy had been in 
Coleraine the preceding day, whither he had gone to give his 
advice and assistance, the tendency of which proved to be the 
facilitating of a general surrender to King James's army. On 
the twenty-fifth, while the men of Derry were in active prepa- 
ration to resist the impending storm, a fire broke out at an 
early hour in the morning in an out-house near the magazine, 
which caused a suspicion of treachery ; the whole garrison got 
under arms, manned the ramparts, and remained there several 
hours in expectation of the enemy. On the same day, intelli- 
gence arriving at Enniskillen of the arrival of Captain Hamil- 

f2 



66 HISTOSY OF THE 

ton in Deny with a great store of ammunition and arms, the 
Governor sent Nicholas Westley, Esq., and the Rev. Andrew 
Hamilton, Rector of Kilskerry, with a guard of twenty-four 
men, to that city, with letters to Hamilton and Lundy, for a 
supply of arms and ammunition. Captain Hamilton v/as de- 
sirous to comply with the request, but Lundy showed the 
cloven foot in the coldness with which he received the mes- 
sengers, and in refusing* to give a single musket complete. 
He however consented, with reluctance, that they should have 
sixty musket barrels without stock or lock, which had lain 
useless for a long time in the stores; and of five hundred bar- 
rels of gunpowder then in the magazine, he gave them but 
five. These were safely conveyed to Enniskillen, to which 
no further supply of arms or ammunition was sent during the 
arduous contest that ensued, but the brave defenders of that 
town supplied themselves by disarming their enemies, until 
Major-General Kirk sent them a relief. 

Early in the month of March, the Rev. George Walker, 
rector of the parishes of Dcnoughmore and Erigal Keeroge, in 
the County of Tyrone, who had raised a regiment in and about 
Dungannon for the protection of that part of the country, rode 
into Derry, and settled a correspondence with Colonel Lundy, 
whom few or none suspected of treachery at that time, and 
whose character for experience in warfare and zeal for the 
Protestant religion stood very high. On the return of Mr. 
Hamilton of Kilskerry from Londonderry to Enniskillen, he 
met Mr. Walker at Liflx)rd, where a token passed between 
them, which proved afterwards of great use during the siege. 

During the first five or six weeks of the siege, Mr. Hamilton 
says, the Irish did not much scruple to let both men and wo- 
men pass between Derry and Enniskillen, by which means a 
constant communication was kept up between these places, but 
afterwards, as might be expected, they would suflfer none to 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 67 

enter the blockaded city, by which means all intercourse with 
other places was completely cut off. 

About eight o'clock in the morning of the twenty-seventh of 
March, General Hamilton appeared with his whole army be- 
fore the ramparts of Coleraine. He advanced within fifty 
yards of the works under the shelter of some hedges and 
ditches, on the blind gate side and near the church. The mill 
sheltered them within forty yards of the bastion. They raised 
two batteries, one of which played on the draw-bridge and the 
blind gate, a shot from which broke the chain of the bridge, 
which Captain Archibald M'Culloch, with great hazard of his 
life, fastened again, while the enemy were firing very rapidly 
at him. The other battery did but little damage, killing only 
one man, knocking down some chimneys, and making a few 
breaches in the church roof. Captain Hugh M'Gill killed 
their gunner with a musket shot. From the beginning of this 
month to the end of September, the weather proved extremely 
wet, both in England and Ireland, the rivers were frequently 
overflowing their banks, and fevers and dysentery very gene- 
rally prevailed. At four o'clock in the afternoon of this day, 
a considerable quantity of snow fell suddenly about Coleraine, 
and in about an hour afterwards General Hamilton and his 
troops retired in great confusion from the formidable position 
which they had taken. The heaps of timber and earth which 
had been used in blocking up the gates on their approach, 
could not be removed with sufficient speed to enable the be- 
sieged to make a prom.pt pursuit, but many of them leaped 
from the walls, and seized several of the retreating enemy, 
with some fire-arms, commissions, clothes and tents. Among 
the prisoners taken on this occasion, there was one Courtney, 
who had deserted to the enemy in the course of that day. 
The loss on the side of the defenders of the town was three 
men killed; a small number to lose considering the continued 
fire to which they had been for some hours exposed : that of 



68 HISTORY OF THE 

the Irish was uncertain, because they carried off their dead; 
and not deeming it prudent to spare time to" bury them, they 
put them into a house, according to the report of the country 
people, and burned them to ashes ; and it was on the succeed- 
ing day the foraging parties advanced from the city within 
two miles of the enemy's camp, and brought in some cattle 
and other necessaries. On the twenty -ninth, Sir Arthur Raw- 
don's regiment was ordered to march to Moneymore, Colonel 
Skeffington's to Bellaghy and Dawson's Bridge, and the passes 
on the Bann above Portglenone, and Colonel Canning's to Ma- 
gherafelt. These arrangements were made in consequence of 
accounts being received of the advance of Colonel O'Neill to- 
wards Coleraine with two thousand men. O'Neill, who was 
son to the ferocious Sir Phelim, had resided in Derry for some 
years before this time, and the approach of a military man so 
well acquainted with the passes through the country as he was, 
added much to the alarm caused by the report of a reinforce- 
ment coming to Hamilton's army. The pass between the coun- 
ties of Londonderry and Antrim, at Toome, was intrusted to 
Col. Houston, within four or five miles of which, at the New Fer- 
ry, Major Michelburn was ordered to take his station. Col. Ed- 
monston, commonly called the Laird of Duntreth, was ordered to 
secure and defend the pass of Portglenone. Sir John M'Gill's 
regiment was sent to Kilrea, where care had been taken to sink 
most of the boats and cots on the Bann. Sir Tristram Beres- 
ford's regiment, with Colonel Francis Hamilton's, and several 
detachments to the number of three thousand men, were left 
to defend Coleraine. The Protestants at Fagivie, under the 
command of Captain Blair, beat back some of the Irish who 
had crossed the river there. On the approach of the Protes- 
tant troops to Moneymore, in which there was a strong castel- 
lated house and bawn, belonging to the Clot worthy family, the 
Irish quitted it, leaving behind them great quantities of provi- 
sions, which were very acceptable to Sir Arthur Rawdon. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 69 

He sent a supply of them to Colonel Edmonston, who had just 
written to him from Portglenone, that his men were almost 
starved with hunger there. Late on the night of Friday, the 
fifth of April, Sir Arthur went to Portgienone, and found all 
well there,' Edmonston had entrenched his men so well, that 
they were out of the range of both great and small shot, and 
he had destroyed a considerable part of the bridge. The ene- 
my v^as, however, very active, and there was a continual fire 
kept up on both sides. Twenty of the enemy were killed the 
next day, and that part of Portgienone in possession of the 
Irish, on the Antrim side of the river, was set on fire by red 
hot iron bullets, which drove them all out of it. 

At two o'clock in the morning of the seventh, advices came 
to the Protestant army at Coleraine, that Lord Galmoy, Col. 
Gordon O'Neill, and Colonel Mac Mahon, had advanced to 
Dungannon v»'ith three thousand men, with the intention of 
cutting off the garrison at Moneymore. The same letter de- 
sired that Sir Arthur Rawdon should hasten back to Money- 
moore, and he was a mile or two on his return with Major 
Baker, Captain Hugh M'Gill, and Captain Dunbar, when he 
heard that the Irish, having on the preceding night passed by 
the guards kept on the river side by Colonel Skeffington, were 
then advanced within a mile of Colon^Edmonston's trenches. 
Sir Arthur sent immediate notice of their approach to Colonel 
Edmonston, one company of whose regiment, quartered, in 
some country houses near the river, fired at the passing ene- 
my till their ammunition was spent. When the boats came 
within half a mile of the trenches, they landed the men, and 
plied back and forwards across the river till they had fenied 
over a considerable party. Two or three companies of their 
grenadiers advanced first through the bog of Glenone towards 
Colonel Edmonston's trenches, in which he had only one hun- 
dred and twenty men. With sixty of these he went out to line 
- ditch on the side of the bog towards the enemy, leavinp- 



70 HISTORY OF THE 

Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw to guard the trenches. He there 
vigorously opposed the Irish, whose numbers every moment 
increasing, at last overpowered him, and obliged him to fall 
back. At this time, Sir Arthur Rawdon and Captain Dunbar 
came to the trenches, and were surprised by a volley of shot 
from the Irish, who immediately sent one hundred grenadiers 
to line the hedges on the way to that only pass by which their 
opponents could retreat, and to secure that point from a body 
of Protestants whom they saw advancing towards it. This 
party consisted of five companies of foot, under the command 
of Lieutenant-Colonel Whitney, coming to the assistance of 
Colonel Edmonston. Whitney commanded three young cap- 
tains to lead on the men, but when he saw the enemy he re- 
tracted his orders, and commanded the men to face about and 
retire; he was obeyed by all but Captain James M'Gill, who 
ashamed of so base a retreat, went on towards the pass : Sir 
Arthur Rawdon and Captain Dunbar came to the pass at the 
same time, and having no other way to escape, ventured 
through all the shot poured in upon them from the hedges, 
until they met Captain James M'Gill, upon which they were 
about to charge the enemy again, when they perceived another 
party of Irish in the rear, and in a few minutes Captain M'Gill 
was shot off his horse; a captain of the Irish grenadiers came 
up and run his sword through the body of the falleniand wound- 
ed officer, and another of the savages dashed out his brains with 
a musket. By the time that Sir Arthur Rawdon had got over 
the pass. Major Baker and Captain Hugh M'Gill had come up 
to it with as many men as they could get together, and had 
stopped Colonel Whitney's party in its shameful retreat. Ed- 
monston and Shaw also got to their assistance, by different 
ways, but the soldiers having little or no ammunition or match 
left, the number of the Irish every moment increasing, and 
news arriving of Lord Galmoy's approach to Moneymore, it 
was resolved that Edmonston and Whitney should retreat with 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 71 

their regiments to Coleraine, that Sir Arthur Rawdon and his 
own regiment of dragoons, with Colonel SkefRngton's and Co- 
lonel Canning's regiments of foot, should retire towards Derry, 
which was accordingly done, Lieutenant-Colonel Willian Can- 
ning having the command of Canning's regiment, which had 
been raised at Garvagh. 

The loss at Portglenone, though numerically small, was 
considerable to the Protestants at this critical time, for besides 
a few common soldiers killed or missing, with Captain Henly, 
who was wounded and taken prisoner, and Captain James 
M'Gill, who was cruelly put to death in a condition which 
would have excited the sympathy of a. civilized enemy, the 
services of two able officers. Colonel Edmonston and Sir 
Arthur Rawdon, terminated here; the former died at Culmore 
Fort in a week afterwards, of a disease caught in the trenches 
at Portglenone, in a season unusually cold and wet, and the 
latter, who was always of a tender constitution, was so injured 
in his health by the fatigue he suffered on this occasioij, that 
he was obliged to retire from the army. , He was so obnoxious 
to King James's government, that in the parliament held on 
the ensuing month, he was particularly exempted from mercy, 
as "one of the principal actors of the rebellion," as it was 
termed, " and one of those who advised and fomented it, in- 
veigling others to be involved therein." Sir Arthur Rawdon^ 
had married Helena, daughter and heiress to Sir James 
Graham, youngest son of the Earl of Monteith, and through 
this lady the present Marquis of Hastings is thought to have a 
title to that ancient earldom, which is now dormant by the 
failure of male issue. 

The Irish having crossed the Bann, all the Protestant army 
of Moneymore, Magherafelt, Dawson's-bridge, Belagby, Toome, 
and New Ferry, retreated over Carntogher mountains into Der- 
ry. Coleraine, too, was abandoned, and all the population of 
the country not belonging to the Church of Rome followed 



72 HISTOKY OF THE 

their armed piotectors, with the exception of those who, from 
age or infirmity, were unable to travel, and a Cew captains who 
took protections from the enemy. 

On the ninth of this month, this body of distressed people 
arrived at the water-side, and the ferry which led over to the 
city; the army without a general, and the terrified crowds 
which followed in the rear, exhibiting as melancholy a specta- 
cle as could be presented to the human eye. Driven by the 
sword of a merciless enemy from house and home, destitute of 
all provisions or clothing except what their precipitate flight 
allowed them to carry about their persons; with a pursuing foe 
in their rear, and a deep and rapid river in their front, their 
last hope was an admission, by the slow means of a ferry 
boat, into a garrison already crowded with afflicted families, 
and scantily provided with the means of subsistence. The 
dragoons alone had brought with them a store of meal and 
other provisions, and those, with the rest of the horse, were 
ordered by Lundy to Strabane, Lifford, and Letterkenny. The 
rest were ferried ove*-, and received with cordiality by all but 
the treacherous governor and a few of his secret adherents. 
On the next day, Cairnes of Knockmany returned from Lon- 
don with instructions, and a letter from King William to 
Colonel Lundy. As he came near the city, he met some 
f officers and a great many people going away from it. Lundy 
had offered passes to these officers, and by his discouraging 
representations prevailed on them to quit the place, which they 
did under strong suspicion of that treachery which, although it 
detracted from the credit of his asseverations, furnisKed an 
argument sufficiently strong to prevent them from expecting 
safety under such a commander. Cairnes delivered the king's 
letter to the -governor and council, acquainting them with the 
cause of his coming, and the forces which were on their pas- 
sage from England for their relief. Fie eaj*nestly dissuaded 
them from deserting this place, now the last hold of the Pro- 



SIEGE OF DEKRY. 7 »3 

testants of Ireland, with the exception of Enniskillen, which 
was not hkely to stand against the forces now advancing to- 
wards it; and he desired, according to his instructions, a par- 
ticular account of the present condition of the city, as to men, 
arms, ammunition, and provisions. In consequence of this 
communication from the king and their friends in England, the 
council resolved to stand by each other, and not to leave the 
kingdom, or desert the public service, till their affairs should be 
settled in a secure posture. A copy of this resolution was 
ciffixed on the market-house, and read next morning at the 
head of every battalion in the garrison. The signatures affixed 
to it were those of Lord Blaney, Sir Arthur Rawdon, Paulet 
Philips, Hugh M'Gill, Richard Crofton, John Hill, George 
Hamilton, Arthur Upton, James Hamilton, Nicholas Atchison, 
H. Montgomery, Thomas Whitney, William Ponsonby, Richard 
Johnston, Robert Lundy, Richard Whaley, Daniel M'Neil, 
William Shaw, J. Forward, Gervais Squire, J. Blaney and 
John Tubman. The soldiers expressed their joy at this decla- 
ration by loud shouts and huzzas; many were encouraged by 
it to remain in the city, although they had resolved to go away; 
but Cairnes's letters to several persons of note, who had fled in 
a panic to Castledoe, for the purpose of embarking there for 
Scotland, were fruitless, and while the soldiers and townsmen 
were murmuring at Lundy's evident neglect of all means of 
defence, the enemy appeared on the opposite side of the Foyle, 
preparing to cross the river in their boats. In the mean time, 
the Rev. George Walker receiving intelligence that the Irish 
army ^»as advancing to Derry, had rode thither and commu- 
nicated his information to Lundy, who treated it as a false 
alarm; upon which he returned to Lifford, where he joined 
Colonel Crofton and his regiment on the thirteenth of April, 
and fought the enemy across the river during the whole of the 
night. The Fin and the Mourne, themselves composed of 
many rivers flowing from the surrounding mountains of Tyrone 



74 HISTORY OF THE 

and Donegal, unite at this town, and form the broad and rapid 
Foyle, swollen at this time to its brim, and rendering the pas- 
sage of it by an army almost impossible. An account of the 
transactions at this time, to be found in a poem discovered at 
Armagh some years ago, states, that the Irish, after losing 
many men in the water, and staining its waves with gore, 
forced their way over the river at LifFord, and pursued the re- 
treating Protestants with great slaughter; but the state of the 
floods at this place rendering it impossible for dragoons to pass 
over at Clatidy, three miles higher up, without swimming; no 
credit can be given to this story, and it may be the more safely- 
classed under the head of a poetical fiction, because Mackinzie 
tells us, that on the next night Colonel Hamill, the gallant pro- 
prietor of LifFord, with his regiment, which he had raised there 
and in the neighbouring town of Strabane, repulsed the enemy, 
with the aid of Crofton and his men, whom Walker had left 
there on the morning of that day, when, in obedience to 
Lundy's command, he went to take his post at the Long 
Causeway. Walker adds, that Colonel Crofton maintained 
this post against the enemy on the -second night's defence of it, 
with great resolution. A proclamation had been issued from 
the council at Derry on the thirteenth, requiring that all who 
would fight for their country and religion, against popery, 
should appear on the fittest ground for battle near Cladyford, 
Lifford, and the Long Causeway, to engage the enemy on the 
ensuing Monday, and to bring with them at least a week's pro- 
visions for men, and as much as they could for horses. The 
signatures to this order, which had not been affixed to ^Jie pre- 
ceding one, were those of Walter Dawson, William Stewart, 
John Barry, C. Frowde, Francis Hamilton and Kilner Brazier. 
At this council, Lundy was chosen commander-in-chief, a trust 
which, for reasons best known to himself, he readily accepted. 
On the same day. Major Stroud made some proposals to him. 



SIEGE OF DERBY. 75 

of which no notice was taken, and most of the suburbs on both 
sides of the river were burned or pulled down. 

On the fourteenth, the enemy's army marched from the 
water-side, where they had on the preceding day made a show 
of crossing the river, and proceeded towards Strabane. The 
vigilant Cairnes, on perceiving their movements, went twice to 
the new commander-in-chief, urging him to take some prompt 
measures for securing the passes of the Finn and the Foyle at 
Clady and LifFord ; but a careless reply, that orders to this 
effect had been given, served to diminish the general astonish- 
ment at the sad occurrences of the ensuing day. Several other 
persons sent word to Lundy, that if he did not march the men 
from the city that day to defend the passes, they could not ar- 
rive in time to do so next morning, and entreated him to be 
with them at both these places on that night. Lundy having 
already decoyed Lord Kingston, and a thousand horse and 
foot, which he had collected in the provinces of Munster and 
Connaught for the defence of Sligo, and ordered to stay and 
keep the passes between Lough Erne and Bally shannon, sent 
an express to that nobleman, which he received at ten o'clock 
this night, requiring him and his troops to join the Protestants 
in the Lagan, and be at Clady, LifFord, and the Long Cause- 
way, before ten o'clock next morning. The nearest of his 
forces were at that time thirty miles from any of the places to 
which they were ordered, so that the design of so short a 
notice was accomplished by the impossibility of obeying it. 
His Lordship, however, marched at an early hour in the morn- 
ing towards Derry, and when he had brought his men within 
five miles of Raphoe, he met several of the Protestants running 
from Claudy, who informed him that Lundy, with the British 
forces, had fled to Derry, the Irish having advanced in pursuit 
of them as far as Raphoe, after having forced their passage 
across the Finn water. In a popular historical play, called 



76 HISTORY OF THE 

Ireland preserved, or the Siege of Londonderry, the feel- 
ings of the Protestant officers at this time are thus delineated: 
— The scene having been changed from Derry to Castlefin, 
Colonel Mitchelburn thus addresses a brother officer: " What 
do you think, Colonel Murray, is this fair dealing or not? 
On Tuesday last I parted with Governor Lundy, who promised 
that I should be relieved or reinforced Vv'ith strong detachments 
of nien, arms, and ammunition; does he think I can defend all 
these passes against the enemy, with little more than one regi- 
ment? 'Tis now the afternoon of Sunday, and we see no ap- 
pearance of troops, although the great body of the enemy's 
troops marched from the water-side of Derry yesterday. I 
expect their attack to-night." The Town Major of the city 
replies: "'Tis admirable that he does not take care; a good 
commander would not send his men farther than he would 
venture to go himself See how regular General Hamilton 
advances, although he has not one half the number of men 
which we have, while our Governor lies sotting and drinking 
in Derry, waiting for the enemy to come and pull him out of it 
by the ears. He sends us upwards of twelve miles from the city, 
as the governor of Coleraine packed us off to be surrounded 
and cut off by the enemy's horse and dragoons. Twice have 
we escaped with our lives by a good retreat; I hope we may 
be able to do so a third time." Mitchelburn answers—" He is 
safe, my friend, though we are not. General Hamilton and 
he combine against us; we have enemies before and behind; 
we are betrayed, sold, our lives allotted and designed by them 
to be a sacrifice to the enemy's fury." Colonel Murray says: 
" 'Tis a most deplorable case ; think how we are served. Lord 
Kingston is within twenty miles of us, with three thousand 
foot and a thousand horsemen, to join us ; yet by private 
designs and villany, this treacherous governor and his friends 
are not contented to get this kingdom to themselves, but at- 
tempt to destroy us root and branch. Thus are we scattered 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 77 

through the country, on purpose that the enemy shall have 
little or no opposition." 

At six o'clock on Sunday evening Mitchelburn had des- 
patched an express to the governor at Derry, imploring as- 
sistance. He stated that the enemy's troops were advancing 
upon him, and that their only preservation for that night was 
the flush of vi^ater in the river, occasioned by the heavy rains- 
Lundy replied, that he would marcl? next morning with two 
thousand men and five pieces of cannon. On the morning of 
Monday, the fifteenth, Colonel Cunningham and Richards ar- 
rived in Lough Foyle, with two regiments of foot, and other 
necessaries, for the support of Derry. They sent their first 
message to Lundy from Greencastle, desiring his orders about 
landing, and received no answer to it. The s^econd message 
they sent from Redcastle, about two o'clock in the afternoon, 
and hearing in reply that the governor had gone with his 
forces to fight the enemy at CJady, Colonel Cunningham wrote 
to him from on board "the Swallow," letting him know 
that two well disciplined regiments had arrived there with 
him, and might join his army in two days at the farthest, be-= 
ing likely to be of great use on any occasion, but particularly 
for the encouragem.ent of new-raised and untrained men. He 
added his advice, to stop the passes on the Finn till he could 
arrive there, and enable him to join battle with the greater 
probability of success. Having received no answer to either 
of these communications, he despatched another v/ith a mes- 
senger from Culmore Castle, at nine o'clock that night. 

In the mean time, the Protestants at Clady, who, a week 
before, had broken down the bridge there, had thrown up a 
breastwork at the end of it. Some of the Irish foot had ar- 
rived on the opposite bank of the river at an early hour, but 
it was noon before the great body of their horse got there 
from Strabane. It was eight o'clock before Lundy marched 
out of Derry with the troops intended to guard this pas?, and 

G 2 



78 HISTORY OF THE 

with the reinforcements which joined them on their march, 
they amounted to ten thousand men, a force more than suffi- 
cient to repel the enemy, which was said to have been Httle 
more than half that number. The first division of the enemy 
which attempted to ford the river at Castlefin, was repulsed by 
a party of Colonel Skiffington's regiment posted there. Ano- 
ther small party, consisting of but thirty dragoons of Colonel 
Stewart's men, after most of the few foot who had been posted 
there were beaten off, opposed the enemy's passing over the 
ford until all their ammunition was spent, and there was no 
more sent to them. Lundy had so managed matters, that the 
necessary supply of ammunition was but three or four miles 
out of the city when his routed forces met the convoy on their 
retreat. Major Stroud, who had some cavalry at Clady-ford, 
was so disadvantageously placed, that he could not bring 
them on, though he earnestly endeavoured to do so; so that 
those who had defended the breastwork at the broken bridge 
were obliged to retire from it. At this moment several troops 
of the enemy's horse rushed into the river and swam across 
it. Two of their officers. Major Nangle, and another whose 
name is not mentioned, were drowned. The state of the flood 
at this time near Clady proves the impossibility of any portion 
of the Irish having passed the Fbyle at Lifford on the pre- 
ceding night. Colonel Gordon O'Neill assured Mr. Mackin- 
zie, author of the Narrative of the Siege of Derry, that when 
they had got over the river this day at the former of these 
places, the Irish were in great terror of an attack from their 
opponents, for so high were the waters, that they had scarcely 
a dry shot left to them. Lundy, however, was their best 
friend on this occasion, for so far from putting the Protestants 
into any posture of defence, by which they might have cut off 
the enemy as they arrived on their side of the river, he gave 
orders for a precipitate flight to Derry, himself leading the 
way in such a manner as to afford reason to suppose he la- 



SIEGE OF DT:RRY 



boured to excite a general feeling of terror and consternation. 
He sent no orders to any other divisions of the army, but at 
none of the passes did they amount to any considerable num- 
ber. On the news arriving in LifFord that the Irish horse had 
got over the Finn water at Clady, the foot, who had been post- 
ed there, and were then firing across the river at some of the 
enemy on the Tyrone side of it, w^ere called off, and retired 
to the pass at Long Causeway, a short distance north of Lif- 
ford, on the direct road to Derry. Colonel Francis Hamilton 
collected those vv^ho arrived there, and drew them up in good 
order behind the pass, expecting the Irish would take that 
road towards the city. But they pursued the Protestants who 
took their way through Raphoe, where they did great execu- 
tion upon Colonel Montgomery's regiment of foot, no care 
having been taken to secure their retreat. Many more v/ould 
have fallen there by the sword of their merciless enemy, had 
they not precipitated themselves into the bogs and marshes of 
the adjoining parish of Clonleigh. The Protestants at the Long 
Causeway staid on the post they had taken there till the even- 
ing, when fearing that the enemy would get between them and 
Derry, they retired thither. On Lundy's arrival there he or- 
dered the gates to be shut, so that many officers, soldiers, and 
private gentlemen, were forced to remain outside the walls that 
night, exposed to the danger of being cut to pieces by the 
enemy's cavalry, from whose rapid and merci]|^ss pursuit they 
had so lately escaped. Among those shut out from the city 
on this perilous night, were George Walker, with his regiment, 
and it was not without difficulty, and some violence on the 
sentinels, that they got admission on the next morning. The 
reason assigned by Lundy for this suspicious measure, was 
his anxiety to preserve the provisions of the city, by keeping 
all out of it above the number requisite for its defence. He 
said he had provisions for three thousand men for three months, 
and that he did not consider it prudent to diminish the period 



80 HISTORY OP THE 

he could hold out, by adding to the number of those who 
should be fed there. His letter to Major Tiffin, on the night 
of the same day, contradicted this assertion, for it stated that 
without an immediate supply of provisions the place would of 
necessity fall into the enemy's hands. He had before written 
to Cunningham, informing him of the disaster at Clady, and 
consenting to the landing of the English troops, but in a post- 
script to his letter to Major Tiffin, he alleged that he had not 
above two days' provisions in the city for three thousand men, 
though all unnecessar}^ mouths had been sent out of it, and 
he ordered Cunningham and Richards to leave their men on 
board their ships, and come with some of their officers into 
the city, that they might resolve what was to be done. 

Accordingly on the next day Colonel Cunningham and 
Colonel Richards, with some of their officers, came to Derry, 
where Lundy called a council of war. Along with himself 
and other officers, it consisted of Lord Blaney, Captain James 
Hamilton and ten others, namely, Hussey, Tiffin, Coote, Corn- 
wal, Echlin, Taunter, Lyndon, Pearson, Pache and Taylor. 
None of the inhabitants of the city were called to this council 
but Mogridge the town clerk, and when Colonels Chichester, 
Crofton, Ponsonby, and Francis Hamilton, who had some siis- 
picion of Lundy's design, desired to be admitted, they were 
refused admittance at the 'door, although Lundy had, in the 
same council, ^lleged that he had sent for Hamilton and 
Chichester, and for Sir Arthur Rawdon, who he said was 
dying. 

On receiving the king's letter and orders from Colonel Cun- 
ningham, the governor repeated the representation he had 
before made by letter, of the defenceless state of the city, ad- 
vising all present to quit it, and declared his intention to do so 
himself. The English officers, it is but just to say, agreed 
with him in opinion, being unacquainted with the falsehood 
of the representation he had made to them, particularly that 



SIEGE OF DURRi. 81 

in which he hud stated that James's army, consisting of twenty- 
five thousand men, were at that moment approaching near to 
the gates. Colonel Richards was the only Englishman who 
objected to the measure proposed, and he argued unanswera- 
bly, that the surrender of Londonderry at that crisis, would be 
the loss of the whole kingdom. A resolution was, however, 
made, that it was not convenient to the king's service to land 
the two English regiments then on board the ships in the har- 
bour, and that the principal officers should privately withdraw 
themselves, as well for their own preservation as in hopes that 
the inhabitants, by a timely capitulation, might make better 
terms with the enemy, v/ho, at all events, would soon possess 
themselves of the place. It seems incredible that Lundy could 
thus delude some of the officers who assisted in the council, 
particularly Lord Blaney, whose services had been already so 
eminent; but there is no calculating to what extent one ac- 
complished villain may practise on the credulity of unsuspect- 
ing men, and if ever there was an adept in the science of 
treachery, this Governor of Londonderry seems to have been 
one. After the council broke up the English officers returned 
to their ships, which had fallen down the river that day to- 
wards Redcastle; and Lundy, in prosecution of his nefarious 
plans, made a public declaration, that the council had resolved 
on the immediate landing of the English regiments; and he 
ordered the Sheriffs to provide quarters for them in the city. 
This he did to delude the officers and soldiers, who had ear- 
nestly entreated that their troops should be landed and join 
with them in the preservation of that corner, as it were, of the 
province into which so great a proportion of the inhabitants, 
provisions, and wealth of three or four counties had been 
brought together, exhibiting as powerful a temptation to a ne- 
cessitous enemy, as affording the strongest inducement and 
most encouraging means to defend so many lives and so much 
substance. One of the officers of the council, however, in- 



82 HISTORY OF THE 

formed Colonel Francis Hamilton and Captain Hugh M*Gill of 
the resolution which the council had really made, and advised 
them to quit the city. M'Gill discovered it to Sir Arthur Raw- 
don and others, who thinking, as they well might, that they 
had been betrayed, deemed it madness to remain as a sacrifice 
to the fury of a triumphant enemy, and therefore many of 
them got off to the ships on the day following. 

Sir Arthur Rawdon, however, did not leave the city without 
protesting against the proceedings of Lundy's council, and 
Walker says he would not have gone away but that he was 
dangerously sick, and was forced to do so by his friends and 
physicians. Fie survived for some years, but it is certain that 
his constitution, which had been delicate from infancy, never 
recovered the injury it sustained at the trenches in Port- 
glenone. The common soldiers and the lower order of the 
citizens were fired with the utmost indignation at the resolu- 
tion of the governor and council ; they vented their fury upon 
some of the officers whom they saw leaving the city, and shot 
one of them, a Captain Bell, who, with some others, had got 
into a boat which was pushing off from one of the quays. The 
officers who had resolved to remain, and who possessed the 
confidence of the multitude, endeavoured, with some success, 
to restrain their violence, and to support their spirits under the 
discouragements which had nearly driven them to despair. 

At this time, the chief part of the infantry which had re- 
treated from Clady and the other passes on the Finn water, 
came to the gates in tolerable order; but Lundy took care that 
they should be shut against them. Had the pursuit been very 
close the consequences might have been fatal; but Hamilton 
had got too warm a reception on the 27th of March, at Cole- 
raine, to be rash in approaching the walls of Derry. On the 
sentinels refusing him admittance, one of the captains of Skiff- 
iogton's regiment discharged a pistol at him, and called for 
fire to burn the gate; upon which it and all the other gates 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 83 

were thrown open to the retreating army, when all who had 
not got into the city with Walker on the preceding night, then 
found their way into it. 

From the scarcity of forage in the city, and the difficulty 
of finding accommodation for so many horses in it, the cavalry 
were sent towards Culmore. Some of the officers and sol- 
diers, influenced by Lundy's representations, or despairing of 
safety by any other means, took refuge in the ships anchored 
there, and at this time overflowing with passengers; others, 
resolved to stand upon their defence and sell their lives as 
dear as possible, collected round the gallant Colonel Murray , 
and put themselves under his command. 

In the mean time Lord Kingston and his army, which would 
have placed the enemy between two fires, and in a most peri- 
lous situation, had the two English regiments been marched 
round by Strabane and joined to his force at Castlefin, were 
sent back to Donegal, when within five miles of Raphoe, a few 
hours after the Irish army had passed the ford at Clady. An 
account was sent to this gallant nobleman by the treacherous 
Lundy, that there was neither room for his men or forage for 
his horses in Londonderry. In consequence of this, he fell 
back to the quarters from which he had advanced, by a forced 
march, on the preceding night, and ordering his cavalry to se- 
cure themselves in Enniskillen, and his infantry in Donegal, 
Ballyshannon, and other places, he forced himself, with a few 
of his officers, into a French vessel at Killybegs, pushed out to 
sea, and hastened to give King William an account of the dis- 
tressed state of the Protestants of Ireland. 

James remained in Dublin from the 24th of March to the 
8th of April, and during the short time he stayed there, seemed 
to be much more anxious to force Popery upon the Protes- 
tants, than to prepare for the contest which awaited him in 
Ulster. 

The Romish priests and friars in the metropolis at this time 



84 HISTORY OF THE 

amounted to three or four hundred in number, sleek, lusiy, 
well-fed fellows, whose effrontery, as mendicants for means to 
build chapels, was not to be paralleled. In a short time four- 
teen mass-houses and convents, and two nunneries, were 
erected in the metropolis, a chief part of the cost of which 
came out of the pockets of Protestants, who dared not to re- 
fuse subscriptions. 

On one of the three Sundays during James's stay in Dublin, 
a Dr. Larbonne preached a controversial sermon before him 
in the cathedral of Christ Church, and on another, an eccle- 
siastic, named Hall, preached a discourse on the same subject, 
corrupting his text by rendering the passage " do penance" in- 
stead of " repent." Although Popery appeared now to be 
nearly triumphant, the Protestant religion did not want an ad- 
vocate, and a powerful one, in Doctor Nathaniel Foy, then 
minister of St. Bridget's, in Dublin, and afterwards Bishop of 
Waterford and Lismore. A few of his friends who wrote 
short-hand, attended the delivery of these sermons, provided 
him with exact copies of them, and he replied to them with 
such ability, from his pulpit, that multitudes flocked to hear 
him from all parts of the city, rejoicing that the cause of truth 
was so well defended. For this conscientious discharge of 
duty he was grossly insulted, and his life endangered. He 
was assaulted by Popish soldiers while performing the burial 
service in his church yard, and was prevented from preaching 
several days by King James's guards, who surrounded his 
church, and threatened to shoot him if he should attempt to do 
so. These were the most cogent arguments used against him, 
and to render them the more convincing, he was imprisoned 
with the celebrated Doctor William King, and some other Pro- 
testant clergymen, who, like him, had preferred their duty to 
their interest and personal safety. A third sermon delivered 
before this bigoted Prince was not so agreeable to him as the 
two former. One Moore, a Popish ecclesiastic, preaching be- 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 85 

fore him in Christ Church, alleged that he did not do justice to 
the only true Church and her clergy, and said that kings ought 
to consult their confessors in all temporal affairs, as the clergy 
possessed a temporal as well as spiritual right ; but that kings 
had nothing whatever to do with the management of spiritual 
affairs, but were to obey the orders of the Church. This was 
too much to be borne even by this priest-ridden prince. The 
preacher, to avoid banishment, privately withdrew from the 
court in consequence of a message he received from the in- 
censed king, who, nevertheless, hastened to gratify the Popish 
clergy, by inflicting severe injury and insult on the Protestant 
bishops and their clergy. Their churches in the metropolis 
had been all seized in the course of the preceding month of 
February, and converted into store-houses for arms. Out of 
twenty-two spiritual peers, only seven remained in Ireland; 
the others had fled from persecution, with many of the inferior 
clergy, who were at that time subsisting by the means of pri- 
vate alms in the western parts of England. Of the bishops 
who remained on account of age and infirm health, three were 
treated in a cruel and inhuman manner. The primate, Dr. 
Michael Boyle, then upwards of eighty years old, had the te- 
merity to refuse a subscription to some friars who applied to 
him for aid to build a mass-house, and the consequence was, 
that a warrant was issued by Sir Thomas Hacket for the ap- 
prehension of that prelate's son and nephew, who were seized 
and kept in prison for several months. Dr. John Roan, Bishop 
of Killdloe, was robbed of all his substance ; and Dr. Hugh 
Gore, Bishop of Waterford, at the age of seventy-eight years, 
was seized in his bed by a band of ruffians, stripped and 
beaten till he was left for dead. The archbishopric of Cashel, 
and the bishoprics of Clogher, Elphin, and Clonfert, were 
seized, with many inferior benefices, and the money received 
out of them disposed of in maintenance of Popish bishops and 
priests, in direct violation of the existing laws and constitution 



86 Hisrojt^ OF 'rnn 

of the realm. Several of the parochial clergy were crueliy 
beaten and ill treated. They were waylaid as they went out 
upon their clerical duty, fired at, wounded, and in many in- 
stances narrowly escaped with their lives ; some were beaten 
with such severity, that they died in a short time afterwards, 
and Archbishop King says, that the Protestant parishioners 
were in general so apprehensive of the danger in which their 
ministers were, that they besought them to withdraw them- 
selves out of it by flying to England or Scotland. Those who 
were unable or unwilling to leave their homes and parishes, 
were obliged to walk from house to house to perform their of- 
fices, as their horses had been taken from them ; and at last 
they were almost all committed to prison, and some of them 
tried for their lives, and condemned to death as traitors and 
rebels; even in the city of Dublin, under the eye of James and 
his government, a Protestant clergyman could scarcely walk 
the streets without receiving either injury or abuse. The sol- 
diers considered it part of their duty to insult them, and the 
French dragoons called them Diables des minestres heretiqueSy 
un Protestant, un Diahle. 

On the eighth of April, James left Dublin, and marched 
with his army towards Ulster; it consisted of twelve thousand 
men and a tolerable train of artillery. His generals were 
Monsieur Maumont, who commanded the French horse, and 
the Marquis De Mensea Pusignian, who had charge of the in- 
fantry. He was accompanied by the Duke of Berwick, Lords 
Netterville and Abercorn, and many other noblemen and gen- 
tlemen of distinction. Sir Michael Creagh, Lord Mayor of 
Dublin, accompanied the unfortunate prince in the double ca- 
pacity of paymaster-general to the army, and commander of a 
regiment of foot. In his progress through the north, James 
stopped a few days at Armagh, which he found inconvenient 
to himself and his train, as it had but a few days before been 
pillaged by the retreating Protestant army. 



SIEGE OP DERRY, 87 

From this he sent Monsieurs De Rosen and Maumont to 
view the troops at Dungannon, to which place he went imme- 
diately afterwards himself, where he saw the regiment of Ca- 
venagh, armed half with pikes and half with muskets, but so 
bad and so much out of order, that not one hundred of them 
were fit for service, which surprised him very much, and made 
him redouble his orders' for bringing arms into Ulster from 
Cork, Kinsale, and Waterford, with all speed. The Marquis 
De Pusignian waited on him here, and informed him that 
Lieutenant-General Hamilton's army at Strabane was in little 
better condition than that at Dungannon, for want of arms and 
ammunition, which obliged the king to reiterate his orders to 
the Duke of Tyrconnel and Sieur De Pointis, for a speedy 
supply of both. On the fourteenth he proceeded to Omagh, 
from which he found Hamiltoa had marched with his army 
for Strabane, and Pusignian, with a considerable body of 
horse and dragoons, for Clady-ford. Upon hearing here that 
the Protestants had shown themselves in great numbers on the 
Donegal side of the Finn water, he sent forward Rosen and 
Maumont, with Monsieur Lery and the troops that remained 
in Omagh, except one regiment of foot and one troop of dra- 
goons, to secure, if possible, the pass over the river. 

On the same day that General Hamilton, the Duke of Ber- 
wick, and Monsieur Pusignian, forced their passage over the 
Finn at Clady-ford, Monsieur de Rosen, according to King 
James's account of the campaign, published in Macpherson's 
collection of state papers, crossed over the river at LifFord with 
so small a force as two troops of horse and one of dragoons, 
though the Protestants on the Donegal side, who opposed them, 
were effectually ten times their number. The Royal Histo- 
rian says, that De Rosen and his general officers leading the 
way, the troops courageously followed them, swimming the 
river, and by so bold an action terrified their adversaries, who 



88 HISTORY OF THE 

fled upon the first charge made upon them, and were pursued 
with considerable slaughter for three or four miles. 

On the sixteenth of April, King James returned from Omagh 
to Claremont, from which he sent a body of troops to reinforce 
the garrison at Coleraine, as also some aid to his friends in 
the county of Down, where there was some appearance of a 
rising of the Protestant population against him. Flis intention 
was to return to Dublin for the purpose of providing all things 
necessary for the siege of Derry, but on that night he received 
an express from the general officers of his army in the neigh- 
bourhood of that city, informing him that after resting the 
troops on the seventeenth and eighteenth, they had resolved to 
join all their force, and advance to the gates at once, in ex- 
pectation of being admitted, on account of the general conster- 
nation which had seized the multitudes who had fled there on 
the passages of the Finn water being forced. 

On the morning of the seventeenth, another express arrived 
to him from the Duke of Berwick, saying that the Derry men, 
whom he termed rebels, had sent to capitulate with General 
Hamilton, who had referred them to Monsieur De Rosen as 
his superior officer, and that De Rosen had offered them the 
benefit of his Majesty's proclamation, as an inducement to a 
prompt submission. Nothing could be more acceptable to 
James than this intelligence, for the success of his attempt to 
regain the crown, evidently depended on his getting possession 
of such a point in Ireland as Londonderry, from which he 
could act by transmitting his army into Scotland. Lord Dun- 
dee, and a powerful party of nobility and gentry, would have 
received him with enthusiasm in the ancient realm of his fa- 
mily, and their devotion to him was blended with feelings of 
self-preservation, which offered the best security for fidelity, 
as, by the triumph of William, the Episcopal Church of Scot- 
land was prostrated, and Presbyterianism established on its 
ruins. He therefore resolved at once to return to the north- 



SIEGE OF DERKV. 89 

west of Ulster, aod present himself befjre the gates of Lon- 
donderry, convinced, by the accounts which he had received, 
that nothing more was wantiag to the accomplishment of his 
most sanguine wishes than his presence there. A report, too, 
had prevailed in the north, that he had returned to Brest, and 
died there; and this rumour it was necessary to contradict as 
soon as possible, by showing himself at the head of his hitherto 
victorious army. Therefore, leaving a great part of his train 
at Charlemont, and taking with him only those who were ne- 
cessary to his household, he rode a long and painful journey 
of thirty miles to Newtown-Stewart, where he arrived late at 
night. He rested, without undressing himself, for a few hours 
in Lord Mountjoy's castle there, which his army afterwards 
burned on their retreat, and the next morning, by break of 
day, he was on horseback, and rode to Strabane, where he 
arrived at eight o'clock. There he received a letter from De 
Rosen, informing him of a second capitulation from Derry, 
and that he was marching with the whole army to present 
himself before the gates. The same letter informed him that 
the English ships, with two regiments on board, were an- 
chored in Lough Foyle. Disappointed at not finding the army 
there, James did not stop at Strabane, though a local tradition 
says he slept there that night. He passed the river on horse- 
back, and overtook the infantry commanded by Monsieur Pu- 
signian, near Ballindrate, about two miles from LifTord; and 
having viewed them without stopping, he went on to join Mon- 
sieur de Rosen, who had marched from Strabane about four 
hours before his arrival there. A part of the horse had been 
sent on the preceding day to Raphoe, as well to save the pro- 
visions, as to drive the Protestants, as it were, into a net in 
the peninsula, between Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle, and 
thereby prevent even a possibility of their escape. De Rosen, 
however, had got within two miles of Derry before he was 
overtaken by his royal master, who then put himself at the 

H 2 



90 HISTORY OF THE 

head of his army, and marching directly towards the city, 
halted on a hill within cannon shot of the walls. 

The place was now surrounded, except on the water side, 
by horse and foot, presenting* a most formidable appearance to 
a garrison unused to warfare, and distracted by the counsels 
of a party within their walls, which, at this moment, possessed 
sufficient influence to procure an offer of surrender to be signed, 
and sent out to General Hamilton by Captain White. The 
bearer was, however, to stipulate that the besieging army 
should not, in the mean time, advance within four miles of the 
city. Rosen, in the mean time, had distributed the besieging 
army in such a way as to invest the place, from the river 
under Ballougry to the shore at Culmore. According to Cap- 
tain Francis Neville's map of the city and adjoining lands, as 
besieged at this time, the order in which troops were stationed 
was as follows. Commencing with Lord Galmoy's horse and 
Sir Michael Creagh's regiment of foot, extending from Bal- 
loughry hill to the water, viz: the regiments commanded by 
Colonel Harrington, Colonel Butler, Colonel Ramsay, Lord 
Slane, Colonel Hamilton, and Lord Gormanstown. Sir Mau- 
rice Eustace and his regiment had charge of the magazine, 
between General Hamilton's quarters and a mill a little to the 
north of the bishop's demesne. In General Hamilton's front 
was a strong post, and between it and Pennyburn-mill were 
Colonel Cavanagh and his regiment. Colonel Butler's was 
encamped near Charles-fort and round to the bank of the 
river, where the boom was afterwards fixed, and on the op- 
posite side, a little low^er down, was Sir Neill O'Neill's regi- 
ment of dragoons. Lord Clancarty and his men occupied a 
position on the road to Green-castle, about half way between 
Charles-fort and an old chapel on the rising ground above 
Culmore ; and between this chapel and the river Fitzgerald's 
and Bagnal's regiments shut out all communication by land 
between Culmore and the city. The fort had a mound of sod- 



SIEGE OF DERBY. 



91 



work for its protection on the land side, and the batteries on 
the side towards the water were very formidable to vessels 
coming up the river. 

The officers of the besieging army, as well as James him- 
self, appear to have been ignorant of what had occurred on 
this and the preceding day in the city, which they hoped to 
gain so easily. In the midst of the consternation artfully 
spread around by Lundy, and after the indignant citizens had 
slain one retreating officer and wounded another, a gallant 
country gentleman named Murray, arrived at the head of a 
body of cavalry, and although the faithless governor refused 
him admittance into the city, forcibly entered it, and was re- 
ceived with acclamation. He harangued the surrounding 
crowds on the perfidy of their governor, and expatiated on the 
baseness of surrendering a place garrisoned by such brave 
men, to an abdicated king and a popish army. Rosen, in the 
mean time, regardless of the stipulation made by General 
Hamilton, ordered the troops to advance towards the city, and 
they posted themselves very near to it, under the shelter of a 
wind-mill and a house near it. He detached other bodies of 
his men along the low lands called the Bogside, near the 
Butcher's-gate. While this was doing, a trumpet arrived 
from the city to the king, requiring an hour's time to consider 
his summons to surrender, and desiring that the troops should 
advance no farther than they had done. Rosen took no no- 
tice of this, and the trumpeter was afterwards killed. In a 
few minutes, as the Irish army continued to advance with 
James at their head, a terrific discharge of cannon and mus- 
quetry commenced from the walls of the city, and continued 
with little or no intermission for the rest of the day. Several 
of the besieging army fell by this fire, and among the rest one 
Captain Troy, who was killed near the king's person. This 
salutation, unexpected as it was, from Lundy's representations, 
who had, on the preceding night, caused the gates to remain 



92 HISTORY OP THE 

open till Major Crofton secured them, and doubled the guards, 
had such an effect on the undisciplined Irish and their unfor- 
tunate king, that the utmost terror and confusion prevailed 
amongst them. The treacherous council of the city in vain 
endeavoured to allay their apprehensions, by sending Arch- 
deacon Hamilton to the Irish camp, to excuse themselves for 
what had passed, and lay the blame of it on a turbulent body 
of men whom they were unable to restrain, and whom they 
falsely represented as a drunken rabble. The better sort they 
said were generally resolved to surrender in a dutiful manner, 
and did all they could to persuade the common people to do 
the same. James, however, to use the language of his own 
diary, had eat nothing for the whole of that day, and notwith- 
standing that and the fatigue of the two preceding days, had 
remained the whole of it on horseback, exposed to cannon, and 
under heavy and incessant rain, waiting for the effects of the 
assurances which had been given to him. He therefore re- 
solved to draw off his troops, and retire to St. Johnston, to 
wait the arrival of the artillery which he expected, and to pro- 
vide other necessaries either for a siege or a blockade. Arch- 
deacon Hamilton abandoned the city, took a protection from 
the abdicated king, and entertained him during his stay at the 
castle of Mongevelin, within a short distance of St. Johnston. 
Captain Murray, in the mean time, had advanced from Cul- 
more fort to a green field below Pennyburn-mill, with a body 
of horse considerable enough to dislodge the enemy which had 
occupied this ground before he approached to it, and he left 
fifteen hundred men below Brook-hall as a body of reserve. 
His first appearance had the effect of inducing the ardent spi- 
rits within the wails to give the astonished tyrant and his slaves 
a reception that astonished them ; and he now received an ex- 
press from the governor and council, requiring him to with- 
draw his men without delay to the back of the hill, out of the 
view of the city. The messenger, who was a relative and 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 93 

namesake of the gallant Murray, informed him that the gover- 
nor and council were then making terms for a surrender of the 
city, and advised him if he wished to save it, to lose no time 
in hastening to the aid of the citizens, who had determined not 
to capitulate while they could raise an arm to defend them- 
selves. He therefore resolved to march to the city; and after 
some opposition from the enemy's dragoons as he passed along 
the river side, arrived safely at Shipquay-gate. The council 
sent him a message, that he might be taken up alone upon the 
walls by a rope, but this proposal he treated with disdain, and 
Captain Morrison, who commanded the guard, without waiting 
for orders, opened the gate to him and his troops. His pre- 
sence, says Mackinzie, struck a cold damp in the governor and 
council, but inspired the men on the walls with vigour and re- 
solution. The council, however, proceeded in their attempt to 
surrender, and many of them signed a declaration to that pur- 
pose, who afterwards signalized themselves in the defence of 
the city. Murray was received by the multitude with every 
demonstration of respect, confidence, and affection. They 
detailed to him their wrongs, and implored his assistance. He 
replied, that he would stand by them to the latest hour of his 
existence, in defence of the Protestant interest, and that his 
first act should be a prevention of a surrender, and his next, 
the suppression of Lundy and his council. Captain Noble, of 
Lisnaskea, in the county of Fermanagh, and a Captain Bash- 
ford, with many other gentlemen, declared their resolution to 
second the noble designs of Murray, and all who would join 
them were desired to signify their intention by putting a ban- 
dage of white cloth round their left arm. This scene is not ill 
described in the homely verse of a manuscript, said to be found 
in a gentleman's library at Armagh about thirty years ago, 
and which, mutilated as it has been, by a loss of eight pages 
in the most interesting part of it, records more of the names 
and circumstances of the defenders of Londonderry, than any 



94 HISTORY OF THE 

J' 

of the other accounts which we have had of tiie transactions 
of that eventful time. 

The illiterate, but amusing poet, thus describes Murray's 
entrance on his career of glory : — 

" Archdeacon Hamilton by James is sent 
Into the city with this compliment ; 
If they in four days would yield up the town, 
All the inhabitants should have their own^ 
With pardon for their past rebellion. 
And he in his commission fared so well, 
That Lundy forced the town to article. 
Th' ingenious Neville, and the said divine, 
Went to King James to tell him they would aiga 
In a few days ; to hasten which the king 
The Irish army to the town did bring ; 
Delays are dangerous, he urges on 
The town to sign the capitulation. 
Which being signed, and ready to be sent, 
Great Murray throws himself and compliment 
Just to the walls : he lay then at Culmore, 
And bravely fought his way upon the shore. 
Lundy refused him entrance — but the town 
Open'd their gate, unto their great renown. 
The loyal party knew his great design, 
And to his conduct they themselves resign. 
Then in a moment all the town rebels. 
And curse the author of the articles : 
For at the guard a proclamation's made. 
That all true hearts repair to the parade 
With handkerchiefs on arms, that all shall die, 
Who would yield up the town to popery. 
Then in a trice eight thousand men convene. 
To whom great Murray did this speech begin : 
* Dear friends, this city is our last support; 
Let us not yield I earnestly exhort. 
Lest that it should to our disgrace be spoke, 
That we submitted to an Irish yoke : 
Hold out brave boys, England will succour send, 
If we like men our city do defend ; 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 95 

Here are sufficient to sustain a siege, 

If we to loyalty ourselves oblige : 

Yet all is vaiii if we do not expel 

The traitor Lundy and his false cabal.' 

The town consents, huzzas now rend the sky, 

Then unto Lundy all in anger fly : 

To whom great Murray spoke this fatal speech : 

Of treachery I do you now impeach, 

Both to the Protestants and to our king — 

A popish reign upon us you would bring. 

You left Tyrone unto the enemy ; 

At Clady-ford you made our army fly. 

And nov7 you're plotting to betray the town, 

By a capitulation of your own. 

Therefore lay down your pow'r, for we will choose 

Such loyal men as will oppose our foes. 

Lieutenant Cook, who from fair Lisburn came. 

Courageously stood forth and said the same. 

Great Murray seized the guards, the keys and all : 

They presently a general council call. 

The Church and Kirk did thither jointly go, 

In opposition to the common foe. 

Although in time of peace they disagree, 

They sympathize in their adversity. 

Then in like words great Murray thus addrest — 

The intestine foe I have at last supprest : 

Here at your feet I lay down all my pow'r. 

*■»***■)(■**■»* 

Then all with one consent. 
Agreed upon a form of government. 
Baker and Walker governors they chose, 
And form'd eight regiments to meet their foes. 
The horse to Colonel Murray they bestow ; 
Him general in the field they do allow. 
From Philliphaugh, near Tweed, his fathers came. 
The noble name of Murray is well known, 
For their great service to the Royal Crown. 
Cairnes of Knockmany's his Col'nel. 
From Meath's fair county came his Major, Bull : 
Cochran, Carlton, Moore, Herd, and Murray, 



96 HISTORY OF THE 

His valiant brothers, captains to him be. 
The Borderers did fill his regiment, 
Which to the field with noble courage went. 
The foot in manner fi^llowing they dispose ; 
Baker and Walker Colonels they chose — 
Whitney and Mitchelburn that honour gain ; 
To Parker the brave regiment of Coleraine : 
Crofton and Hammel the same station grace — 
These and the Volunteers defend the place. 
Watson's made master of the artillery. 
Two hundred gunners and montrosses be : 
James Murray was conductor of the train ; 
Our engineer was Adams of Strabane, 
For Major of the town Captain Freeman. 
Thus in a few hours they form'd a noble band, 
Which did King James's forces all withstand." 

The rustic poet proceeds to describe the position of the dif- 
ferent regiments in the besieging army, in which he differs 
considerably from the representation of them in Captain Ne- 
ville's map. Lord Louth's camp he places on the east beyond 
the river, at Strong's orchard ; Brigadier-General Kearney's 
division he stations with Sir Neill O'Neill's dragoons; and he 
assigns a place to Monsieur Maumont near General Hamilton, 
at Brookhall. An air of truth pervades this poem, and im- 
presses a conviction on the mind, that it presents to us a 
picture drawn from life; and for this reason, as well as for the 
transmission of many names to posterity, unrecorded in any 
other way, it shall be quoted with slight verbal alterations, as 
opportunities may offer in the course of this narrative. 

It may be easily conceived that the climate of Derry had 
now grown too warm, to suffer Governor Lundy to breathe in 
it much longer. "He stole off," says Dalrymple, "with a 
load upon his back, a disgraceful disguise, and suited to him 
who bore it." Walker says, that he got out with a burden of 
matches on his shoulders, in a sally towards Culmore; and his 
last act was a successful endeavour to persuade the officer in 



SIEGE or DERRY. 97 

cotnmand to surrender that fortress. Captain Ash accuses 
Mr. Galbraith, an attorney, and two persons named Adair, of 
selling Ciilmore to the Irish army. It is not however probable 
that such a transaction should have escaped the notice and ani- 
madversion of Walker and Mackinzie, neither of whom men- 
tions it. It was the day after the repulse of James from the 
walls of Londonderry, that the officers mentioned in the 
Armagh manuscript were appointed: Walker and Mitchel- 
burn have both given lists of them, the total amount of men 
and officers being little more than seven thousand men. The 
town was weak in its fortifications, the wall being less than 
nine feet thick along the face of the ramparts, with a ditch and 
eight bastions, and some newly raised outworks. Of all the 
guns upon the walls, which had been a present to the city from 
the London companies, nearly half a century before this time, 
scarcely twenty were fit for use, and nearly twenty thousand 
women, children, and men unarmed, or incapable of bearing 
arms, diminished the probability of the garrison being able to 
sustain a protracted siege. These were opposed to a prince, 
who, notwithstanding all his misfortunes, possessed an influence 
in Ireland, which, if estimated by the physical force of his ad- 
herents, was sufficient to bear down all opposition to him, and 
the number of his besieging army amounted to twenty thou- 
sand men. 

While the new governors of Londonderry were examining 
the public stores, observing the motions of the Irish regiments 
around ttie city, and assigning a position to each division of 
their ov>^n forces, the unhappy James, considering how much 
the troops he had with him at St. Johnstown had been harassed 
on the preceding day, suffered them to remain there and take 
some rest. He held a council on this night, when it was re- 
solved that he should return with Rosen and Lery, to meet the 
Parliament he had summoned to assemble on the seventh of 
the succeeding month, and that Hamilton, Maumont, and the 

I 



98 HISTORY OF THE 

Duke of Berwick, should remain to reduce the Derry rebels, 
most of whom, he had heard from some sycophants, were run- 
ning from the city into the wilds of Ennishowen. He then 
gave protections to all the Protestants who submitted to him, 
and he alleges that their number was great. On the twentieth 
he set out from St. Johnstown, and dined on his way to Stra- 
bane under a large tree, in the front of Cavanacor-house, 
within a mile of Lifford. The table at which he sat, and the 
china upon which his dinner was served up, are still preserved 
and shown as curiosities in the adjoining village of Ballindrate. 
In the evening he proceeded to Strabane, where he received a 
deputation, offering a surrender of Culmore Fort, which he ac- 
cepted, and in consequence of which. General Hamilton was 
put in possession of it a few days afterwards. 

On the same day a party of the besieging army marched 
towards Pennyburn-raill, and pitched their tents there, by 
which, as already mentioned, they hindered all passage to or 
from Culmore. The garrison despatched a Mr. Bennet on a 
message to the English government, and to protect him from 
the suspicions of the enemy, fired after him as a deserter. At 
the same time Lord Strabane approached the walls, a great 
proportion of whose defenders were his tenants, and offered the 
king's pardon, protection, and favour, to those who would sur- 
render the place. During this parley the enemy were ob- 
served to draw their cannon forward, upon which his Lord- 
ship was desired to withdraw, on pain of being exposed to the 
danger of a shot: and as he retired he was told that the garri- 
son of Londonderry would not surrender it to any but King 
William and Queen Mary, or their order. On Sunday, the 
twenty-first, James rode from Strabane to Omagh, in which 
latter place he received deputies from Castlederg, who offered 
a surrender of that fortress, which being strong in itself, and 
commanding a pass between Derry and Enniskillen, was 
granted favourable articles, and secured by a garrison. The 



SIEGE OF DERRV. 99 

Irish army in the morning of this day alarmed the city, by 
firing on it from a demiculverin, placed on the opposite side of 
the river. This, from the novelty of it, produced greater alarm 
than heavier cannonades did afterwards, but did little or no 
mischief except to the market-house. The first sally from the 
town was now made by a body of horse and foot, under the 
command of Colonel Murray; the captains of foot being, 
Archibald Saimderson, William Beatty, Thomas Blair, and 
David Blair. Lieutenant-Colonel Cairnes and Captain Philip 
Dunbar were posted on an eminence with a body of reserve. 
The horse amounted to three hundred in number, and iVlurray 
divided them into two parties. With the first of these he 
courageously charged the enemy himself, and the second was 
led forward by Major Nathaniel Bull, a gentleman of the 
County of Meath, to whom, as well as to his father. Major 
Samuel Bull, the city of Londonderry was indebted for many 
eminent services. The rear was brought up by Captain Coch- 
ran, of Ballyrath, in the county of Armagh, who, when the 
men under his command fled, advanced with a few gallant 
fellows to the scene of action, where his horse was killed under 
him, and he received a wound in the leg. The Irish divided 
their horse into two squadrons also; the commander of one of 
them led them on with great bravery. Colonel Murray charged 
through that division of them, and in the course of the day had 
three personal encounters with him, in the last of which he 
killed him on the spot, and the enemy then confessed that he 
was their general, Maumont, whose brother also was said to 
have fallen by the hand of Murray, in this engagement. Iei 
the mean time the Irish horse had pureued the Derry cavalry 
towards the walls, to which they had retreated, but they were 
almost all killed by a body of the Protestant infantry, whoj, 
perceiving the retreat of their friends, had moved from a mill 
where they had done great execution, to the strand, near the 
Bog-side, in which they lined the ditches, and commanded the 



100 HISTORY OF THE 

pass. In tlie commencement of the action, the enemy brought 
a piece of cannon to the point on the other side of the river, 
opposite to the strand, and fired frequently at the besieged 
without effect ; but a gun from the wall at last dismounted the 
piece, killing the gunner and others who happened to be near 
him. The loss on the side of the enemy amounted to more 
than two hundred men killed, including Major-General Mau- 
mont, Majors Taaffe and Wogan, Captain Fitzgerald, and 
Quartermaster Cassore. The Marquis De Pusignian was 
mortally wounded.*' The loss on the Derry side was no 
more than nine or ten, among whom were Lieutenant 
M'Phedris, Mr. Mackey, one Harkness, and five or six pri- 
vate soldiers killed, but the number of the wounded was con- 
siderable. Three standards were taken from the Irish army, 
with a great spoil of horses, saddles, cloaks, arms, watches, 
and money. 

The historical drama already quoted throws such light upon 
the general history of the country, and the particular state of 
the contending armies in Ulster at this period, that a few ex- 

* In the Memoirs of the Duke of Berwick, vol. I. page 51, it is 
stated, |hat it was on the 25th of April, 1689, that General Pusignian 
received his mortal wound before Londonderry. It is added, that 
Brigadier-General Pointy received a wound on this occasion, of which 
he recovered ; and that the Duke of Berwick suffered a violent con- 
tusion on the back bone at the same time. It gave him great pain, 
but after a few incisions he got rid of the bad effects of it. This was 
the only injury the duke received during the whole war. 

On the same day that Maumont was killed, General Taaf and about 
six or seven Dragoons, with Major Taaf, brother of the Earl of Car- 
lingford, were killed. There was not one among the French engaged 
this day that was not either wounded himself, or had not his horse 
wounded. {Berwick'' s Memoirs.) 

Brigadier Waucobs post was on the Prehen side of the Foyle. The 
Duke of Berwick had his quarters below Culmore, at Muff, in Done, 
gal. General Ramsay commanded four battalions, two miles from the 
city, on the St. Johnstown side of the river. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 101 

tracts from it can hardly fail to be appropiiate in this place. 
The scene having changed from Deiiy to the camp of the be- 
siegers, at Pennyburn-mill — General Hamilton enters, accom- 
panied by Sheldon, Dorrington, Ramsay, and Buchan, Shel- 
don then addresses the commanding officer in the following 
words: — "I understand, Blamiiton, that the king has left the 
whole concern of the campaign under your care and conduct; 
and as you have been very fortunate hitherto, his Majesty is 
well assured there will be nothing wanting in future to the re- 
duction of these rebels to obedience." " Alas, Sir," replies the 
general, "our cause is lost ! we are undone. The king might 
as well have staid at Paris, since we can do no good. One 
day now is a month's loss; England will be alarmed, the 
Prince of Orange will soon understand our designs, all of 
which will be frustrated. If this unlucky accident, this oppo- 
sition of the rebels to our occupying Londonderry had not 
happened, we would have been in Scotland before this time; 
we should have had an army in England, and the King of 
France would have assisted us. Alas ! this perverse town dis- 
appoints, daunts, and so disgraces us, that all King James's 
army could not reduce it, inconsiderable as it is. It is but a 
poor revenge to starve these people; they will say it is Popish 
cruelty, while we shall reap no advantage from it. In three 
or four months the English will land upon us, and beat us out 
of the kingdom." 

The dialogue then proceeds thus : — 

Sheldon. — " I must own, with great regret, the reason why 
we did not succeed ; it was our own fault ; flushed with suc- 
cess on all sides, we were too sure of accomplishing our ends, 
and have, I fear, left an example to future ages of the conse- 
quence of despising even the most despicable enemy. 

Buchan. — "This night the king sleeps at Strabane; the 
next at Charlemont; and so he proceeds to Dublin, where he 
will hold the parliament which he has summoned to assemble 

i2 



102 HISTORY OF THE 

on the seventh of May, when the act of settlement shall be re- 
pealed, and some laws will be enacted for the good of the na- 
tion. 

Hamilton. — " Calling a parliament, Buchan ! 'tis an act of 
folly, especially at this time. I can assure you he did not 
leave the French court to call a parliament in Ireland ; we have 
weightier matters in hand. The method devised for him by 
the French king's council was to have taken fifty thousand 
men from this kingdom to join Lord Dundee's army in Scot- 
land, and march with an overwhelming force into England, 
where there are multitudes ready to join his standard on the 
first appearance of his ability to protect them. But this cursed 
town ruins all — [striking his hreast~\ — -it stops our current, it 
is the destruction of our great designs ; it makes us little in the 
eyes of our confederates, and will absolutely be the ruin of us 
all. Thousands who were favouring our interest will now de- 
cline in their ardour, turn to the other side, and make the 
Prince of Orange more glorious than ever. 

Ramsay,- — " Had these people been pardoned and sent to 
their homes, we might, in all probability, have had the town 
by this time, and used it as a point of embarkation for Scot- 
land, but you see how the contriving of mischief for others 
falls upon our own heads, spoils all the king's affairs, and loses 
an opportunity which we shall never meet again. All our 
ammunition must be brought by land-carriage from Kinsale, 
which is about two hundred miles distant from Londonderry. 
In the mean time our cause is lost ; to save it we should have 
had here by this time, five hundred barrels of gunpowder, 
twenty-four pieces of cannon, and all other necessary materials 
ready to our hand. All our designs prove vain ; delays of 
this kind never can be retrieved; he never, never will enjoy 
his crown again." 

The scene then changes to the city, and after a dialogue 
between two of the aldermen, who, late in life, and cowardly in 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 103 

disposition, had nevertheless changed the gown for the sword, 
and accepted the command of companies; it shifts about again 
to the Irish camp, when the dialogue is thus resumed : — 

Hamilton. — "I had all these letters from the town, giving 
an account of the ringleaders of the rebels, and of their new 
Governor ; the old one, it seems, they have turned out, I have 
likewise an assurance of the scantiness of their stores ; there 
is very little in them. 

Ramsay. — " But, Sir, the private houses are well furnished, 
and there is more meal and other provisions in some of them 
than in the stores, 

Waucop. — " I had a note last night from a very honest 
burgher, who was deputy-mayor to Colonel Cormack O'Neill, 
who was placed there by Lord Tyrconnel, when a quo tear- 
ranio was issued against their charter; John Buchanan they 
call him ; he makes his request to your Excellency for a pro- 
tection for himself and his family, and several others. 

Hamilton. — " My secretary is drawing five hundred of these 
protections. There is one of my name who makes great pro- 
fit by selling them at half-a-guinea a piece. 

Buchan. — "Your Excellency may see that the cobweb go- 
vernment of Londonderry is tottering already. 

Hamilton. — " If it is not tottering I will make it totter, and 
these rebels thall totter by scores upon yonder gallows." 

The scene then changes to the city, from which two thou- 
sand chosen musketeers are suddenly sent out. The battle on 
the strand is represented; Murray being designated by the 
stage name of Monrath; Walker called Evangelist; Baker, 
Anthony; and Mitchelburn, Granade. It is probable that this 
interesting drama was written during the life-time of some of 
these and the other defenders of the city, who were occasion- 
ally present at the representation of it on the stage, and the 
subject of it not being, as the term is, " ripe for history," their 
real names could not with propriety be used to designate their 



104 HISTORY OF THE 

characters. The true names are given in these extracts, there 
being no longer a necessity for using the fictitious ones. 

The scene changes once more to the quarters of General 
Hamilton, who thus addresses Generals Waucop and Buchan t 

"A man came to me not long since, and told me that a swarm 
or two of the rebels came out of the city to take the air ; they 
are so hot in keeping within that hive of theirs, that the old 
ones turn out the young ones. I'll serve them one of these 
days as they do the bees; put brimstone under their hive and 
smother them all. T was indeed going towards them on horse- 
back, but on reflection thought it not worth my while to take 
that trouble. We shall have a hundred or two of them to 
hang presently. I have indeed allowed quarter to be given, 
but it is only for three days, to sport with them, to tantalize 
them, to serve them as a cat does a mouse, play with them a 
little and then devour them. 

Waucop. — " I take that "very well, if it were no more than 
to make them an example to the country. 
Enter Sheldon. 

Hamilton. — " What news, Sheldon? What prisoners shall 
we have to hang ? 

Sheldon. — " Prisoners, Hamilton ! Your men were all 
beaten ; the enemy were near having enough of our men pri- 
soners, for if Lord Galmoy had not come down with his horse, 
and Brigadier-General Ramsay with three brigades of infantry 
from Ballougry, we would have been entirely routed. The 
reinforcement caused the rebels to retire, but Lieutenant-Ge- 
neral Maumont has been killed, with a great many more. 

Hamilton. — " Is it possible? 

Sheldon. — "It is very certain, Sir. 

Hamilton. — "Oh, most miserable! These rebels begin to 
get heart ; let me immediately have a fort built to cover Pen- 
ny burn-mill, and another at Ballougry to cover my infantry." 

The scene then changes to Londonderry, where Mitchel- 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 105 

burn thus addresses Baker, Walker, Campbell, Murray and 
the Town Major :— 

" A blessed Sunday's work! this is now something like suc- 
cess; there is some sport on our side at last. See the white 
carcasses of our enemies lying on the ground. Brave boys; 
they find what stufF we are made of; all good men and true. 
My dear Murray, [shaJdiig hands icith khn,] you laid about 
you with a witness! Let us turn aside a little and see what 
plunder our soldiers have got." 

[Enter Six Soldiers ; they pass over the stage; one with a 
pair of jaclc-boots, a trooper'' s coat, and a case of pistols; 
another with a fine laced saddle, crying, ^^here^s plunder P'^ 
a third ivith a scarlet coat and plate buttons, a hat and 
feathers; the fourth a large wig, loith a silver hilted sword 
and gold fringed gloves; the fifth with a fine green purse, 
of slight net iDork, filled with Spanish pistoles, crying 
^^ plunder, you rogues/ gold, boys;^^ a sixth, in his broad 
Scottish accent, informs the Governor that he had gotten a 
guid horse, but o'er mucMe to gang in by the doorway.^ 
Mitchelburn,-—^^ This success wiW much enliven our men; 
we shall now begin to feel how the enemy's pulse beats. 

Baker. — " Aye, and their hearts too before we have done 
with them," 

An express was sent to James with an account of this dis- 
aster, and it overtook him in Omagh on the ensuing day He 
was much concerned at the enterprise against Derry commen- 
cing with the loss of Maumont, and was weak enough to order 
his corpse to be carried to Dubhn, a circumstance likely to af- 
ford a triumph to his enemies in every part of the country 
through which the funeral should pass. He wrote at the same 
time to Hamilton, positively forbidding the general officers to 
expose themselves as Maumont had done, notwithstanding the 
remonstrances of Sheldon and other experienced officers, a 
practice which, he observed, was as contrary to prudence as 



106 HISTORk- OF THE 

to the known rules of war, and certainly one of which he 
never appeared very ready to set an example in Ireland. 

It is much to be regretted that Walker has omitted to give 
credit to Murray for having slain Maumont in single combat 
on this day; but it was uncandid in the publishers of the Dub- 
lin and Derry editions of his Diary, to allege that the omission' 
was a decisive proof of a disagreement between them. Walk- 
er's conduct towards the gallant Murray on that occasion was 
that of a man superior to such a motive for his silence. When 
Murray was surrounded by a crowd of assailants, and likely 
to be overpowered by them, notwithstanding the prodigies of 
valour and strength which he exhibited, the Governor rushed 
from the city to his assistance, mounted a horse whose rider 
had been killed, rallied the retreating Protestants, and at the 
imminent peril of his life, rescued his friend from impending 
death. Mackinzie does justice to Murray, but is silent re- 
specting Walker; but as his narrative was professedly written 
to "rectify the mistakes and supply the omissions," and not to 
add any thing to the dazzling fame of his renowned cotempo- 
rary, this omission is the less surprising. It affords, however, 
an additional proof of the necessity of a new and more satis- 
factory account of the transactions of this interesting period 
than any which has hitherto appeared. 

Captain Ash says that there was much gold found in the 
pocket of Pusignian and Taaf, and that during the whole of 
this day the enemy's cannon played upon the city from the 
other side of the river, by which some houses in Pump street 
were demolished. 

The poem found at Armagh records so many names and 
probable circumstances not mentioned by any of the journal- 
ists of this siege, that a transcript of the most curious parts of 
it, with a Cew verbal amendments, and some attempt to polish 
its rustic versification, cannot but be acceptable to all who 
deem the preservation of the history of our country to be an 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 107 

object of importance to posterity. Tlie following is the ac- 
count given in it of this battle: — 

" On Sunday morn # * * » 
By break of day, the Irish force advanc'd 
In squadrons two, their horse prepar'd to fight 
On the left wing ; their foot were on the right. 
Maumont their horse, Hamilton their foot command, 
At Pennyburn river they began to stand. 
The sound of drums and trumpets rend the air, 
The flower of all King James's men were there. 
The noble Murray hastens to the strand, 
And in like manner does his troops command. 
. Foot against foot, horse against horse he plac'd, 
In gallant order to the en'my fac'd. 
He with a thousand foot his horse sustain'd. 
Which noble stratagem the battle gain'd. 
Mounted upon a gallant steed that hour, 
He fought the Irish with unequal pow'r. 
The loud huzzas of both hosts rend the sky, 
Each side prepar'd to conquer or to die. 
The French came on with glittering sword in hand, 
But our quick firing made their horses stand. 
Maumont the French, Murray our horse led on. 

Murray, like thunder, through their squadrons broke, 

A gallant Monsieur fell at every stroke. 

Maumont did also with like terror ride 

Thro' troops retreating round on every side. 

Both squadrons fight with equal force and rage, 

And in close combat mutually engage ; 

Till prostrate bodies covered all the shore, 

For both reserves had fled the spot before. 

Ours in the city their protection found, 

Theirs was unable to maintain their ground. 

For Luddle brave, an English buccaneer, 

A thousand footmen marching in his rear, 

Made the proud enemy soon disappear. 

In this pursuit stout Captain Taaf was slain, 

Brave Captain Cochran did that honour gain. 



108 HISTOKY OF THE 

Lieutenant Carr, the Laird of Graddon's son, 

In this affair great reputation won. 

The strand thus clear'd, Murray and Maumont meet. 

Who with dire threat'nings one another greet. 

For they had often sought each other out. 

But still were parted in the bloody rout. 

They first discharged their pistols on the spot, 

In which brave Murray's fiery steed was shot. 

Yet the brave beast ne'er felt the deadly wound, 

But pranc'd and wheel'd upon the bloody ground : 

Redoubled blows they gave with sword in hand, 

Which the strong armour scarcely could withstand. 

At last their swords in several pieces flew, 

And with their rapiers they the fight renew. 

'Twas then Mauraont began to falsify, 

He wheel'd his horse, which then began to spurn,, 
But noble Murray made a quick return, 
For under his raised arm his steel he thrust. 
Till at his neck the purple gore out burst. 
His fleeting soul with the free blood expir'd, 
And our great hero to the foot retir'd, 
Where they, the Irishmen, had soundly beat, 
And caused them all to make a quick retreat. 
Brave Major Blair the hottest fire sustain'd. 
And by great feats a reputation gain'd. 
Young Francis Croftoa to the battle flew, 
And with his sword a multitude he slew. 
Noble, like light'ning, fell among their foot, 
Dunbar's red coats, too, put them to the rout. 
The valiant Cooke from Lisnagarvey fought^ 
And conquer'd many who his ruin sought. 
Lieutenant Rankin hew'd the Irish down, 
And in that bloody battle gain'd renown. 
Tom Barr, a trooper, with one mighty blow, 
Cut off the head of an opposing foe. 
Two thousand slain the river side they fill'd, 
And many officers of note were kill'd. 
On our side some ; brave Cornet Brown was slaiij^ 
Mac Phetrix died upon the purple plain. 



SIEGE OF JDERllY. iU9 

Lieutenant Mackay fell upon the spot, 
M'Cleland's son was wounded with a shoL 
The ancient father did the son revenge, 
And with the foe full many a blow exchange. 
The parents view'd their sons' exploits that day, 
From the strong walls above the broad Ship-quay, 
For near that place upon the shore they fought. 

Then backward to the town 
Our host return'd in triumph and renown. 
Great was the spoil and plunder of that day, 
For all return'd with some substantial prey. 
One brought a pyebald horse, which Columbkill 
Foretold, if taken at the Pennyburn-mill, 
The Irish might expect no more success ; 
This fatal horse was taken in the chase." 

On the twenty-second of this month the abdicated king sent 
a general officer from Charlemont to command some forces 
which he had ordered to march tov/ards Carrickfergus to pre- 
vent the landing of the English there, in case their ships, 
which had sailed out of Lough Foyle, should attempt to do so; 
and being informed there was some new commotions of the 
Protestants in the county of Down, he sent a reinforcement to 
his troops there. On the twenty-third he arrived in Newry, 
and finding the disorders in the county of Down increase, sent 
back another troop of dragoons to his army, leaving no force 
to guard his person on his return to the metropolis. This day 
the Irish army planted two pieces of cannon in the lower end 
of Strong's orchard, about eighty perches distant from Lon- 
donderry, on the other side of the Foyle opposite Ship-quay 
street. These threw balls of about ten pounds weight each, 
and with them they played so incessantly on that street, pene- 
trating the garrets and walls, that many persons were wounded 
by them, and it became unsafe to remain in the upper parts of 
any of the houses. The besieged threw up a blind, as they 
termed it, to preserve the inhabitants of this street, and re- 



110 HISTORY OF THE 

turned the fire from their walls with such eflect, as to kill 
Lieutenant-Colonel O'Neill, Lieutenant Fitzpatrick, two Ser- 
jeants, several private soldiers, and two friars in their habits, 
to the great grief of the Irish, says Walker, for they were in- 
dignant beyond measure, that the blood of these holy men 
should be spilled by an heretical rabble, as they termed the 
defenders of Londonderry. 

Monsieur Pusignian died this evening of the wounds which 
he received in the battle of the precefding Sunday, and King 
James, on receiving the news of his death, was much con- 
cerned at it, for this officer, as well as Maumont, was as much 
esteemed for obliging manners as he had been resected for 
courage and conduct. On the twenty-fourth, Captain Ash 
says, the enemy began to throw bombs into Londonderry, a 
practice which, in a short time, became too familiar with them. 
On the next day King James arrived in Drogheda, from which 
he proceeded, after one night's rest, to Dublin. Tyrconnel 
had not returned from visiting the country garrisons; the ex- 
pected supply of arms had not arrived from Cork, Kinsale, or 
Waterford, and the Protestant artificers had not been very ac- 
tive during his absence in repairing the old muskets in the ar- 
senal, or making the tools necessary for his engineers. Pie 
therefore renewed his orders on these heads, and taking all 
possible methods to obtain the necessary supply of cannon, 
small arms, and ammunition, resolved to form three camps on 
the expected surrender of Derry, one towards Scotland, to 
cover the embarkation of i^oops for that country, and others 
in the neighbourhood of Dublin. Lord Mount-Cashel was ap- 
pointed Muster-Master of artillery, 'and the king resolved to 
send several pieces of cannon to Derry by sea; but this latter 
project was frustrated by the appearance of sorne English ves- 
sels in the channel. Tyrconnel returned to Dublin in a few 
days after James's arrival there, and reported that he had 
found so many efficient men among the Irish infantry, that he 



SIEGE OF DERRY. Ill 

did not disband them in the proportion which he had resolved 
to do when he left town. Those whom he had disbanded had 
committed great atrocities wherever they went, so that it be- 
came necessary to restrain them by the appointment of pro- 
vost-marshals in each of the provinces; but the king set them 
a bad example at the same time, by ordering the goods of all 
absent Protestants to be seized and confiscated. 

Orr the twenty-fifth of April the besieging army placed their 
mortars again in Strong's orchard, and fired a few small bombs 
across the river, on the Ship-quay street of Derry. The greater 
part of these fell in the street, and one of them killed an old 
woman in a garret. The first that was discharged fell into a 
house where several officers were at dinner, and rolling over a 
bed that was in the room, did there no injury, but passed into 
a lower room, where it killed the landlord and broke a hole 
through the outer wall, through which the guests went out, as 
it had by the concussion choked up the doors of the house- 
In consequence of this, the ammunition was secured in the 
vaults, under the cathedral church, in dry wells, and in the 
cellars of private houses. In the mean time Colonel Murray, 
with some cavalry and a strong body of foot, which he always 
supported by dragoons, sallied out of the town and drove the 
enemy from the trenches into which they had thrown them- 
selves. Some of the foot had followed the retreating enemy 
too far, and a party of their horse suddenly forced them to fall 
back upon the main body, who, forming themselves in a line 
behind a ditch on the road side, fired with such effect upon the 
pursuers, as to throw them into great confusion, and oblige 
them to retreat. The Derry-men then pursued them to Penny- 
burn-mill, and pressed so hard upon them, that their dragoons, 
who themselves had just been beaten out of an old mill about 
a mile higher up on the same water, found it necessary to 
leave their horses behind them, and reinforce their distressed 
friends at Pennyburn. The Derry-men kept their enemy at 



112 HISTORY OF THE 

warm work in this place until the evening, and returned with- 
out much loss. A party of the besieged, which went out to- 
wards the close of the day to cover the retreat of those who 
were engaged at Penny burn, were beaten back, but without 
loss, by a party of horse which had been despatched from the 
Irish camp, each of them carrying a foot-man behind him. 
Those who signalized themselves on this occasion with Colo- 
nel Murray, were. Major Bull and Captains Obrey, John-Ken- 
nedy, Archibald Saunderson, Michael Cunningham, William 
Beatty, and William Moore. The contest both at the old and 
new mill was very sharp, and lasted for a considerable time. 
Mackinzie says the loss on the Derry side was but two men 
killed and eight or ten wounded ; but Captain Ash alleges that 
Cornet Brown and three others were killed; the loss on the 
enemy's side was not ascertained. In the Armagh manuscript 
this engagement is called the battle of Elah, and the author 
thus celebrates those who distinguished themselves in it: — = 

" Against the weakest side our Gen'ral saw, 
Their greatest force the Irish army draw ; 
Which to prevent with equal ardour he 
Sprung forth at morn to fight the enemy- 
Near Elah in the parks. Murray came on, 
The Irishmen were led by Hamilton ; 
Where they continued fighting till 'twas noon, 
When we were flanked by th' enemy's dragoon 
Five hundred men our open flank secure, 
Led on by Taylor. Saunderson, and Moore. 
The enemy stood boldly to the fight, 
But Murray quickly put them all to flight, 
Berwick and Pontee each received a scar 
From valiant Murray and the brave Dunbar. 
Bold Major Bull did wonders in that fight, 
For he brought back the Irish on the right. 
Crofton and Bashford did much honour gain, 
By Captain Noble multitudes were slain. 
From Lisnaskea, Fermanagh's pride, he came, 
But now he's Major Noble of the same. 



SIEGE OF DERBY. IIB 

Cairnes in our centre, standing like a rock. 
Undauntedly repell'd each hostile shock ; 
Like Spartan heroes firm together clos'd, 
He and his friends their enemies oppos'd. 
Lieutenant Lindsay, Lord Donrode's brave son, 
Fresh honour in this hot engagement won. 
Brave Captain Barrel from Urney, near Strabane, 
Gain'd the renown of an heroic man. 
Here Tillilagan, from renown'd Tyrone, 
To glory sent her gallant Saunderson. 
The valiant Moore of Augher, with great might, 
Cut all before him in this bloody fight. 
Lieutenant Cooke repuls'd the enemy, 
And forc'd their bravest warriors to fly. 
Lord Abercorn left both boots and horse, 
And fled without his cloak, with all his force. 
Then in a trice our foes we soundly beat. 
And to their camp compel them to retreat. 
We burned their stores in El ah without pity. 
And turn'd back to march into the city. 
When we went forth we carefully had sent 
Most of our horse, and of foot a regiment, 
To watch the camp by gallant Ramsay kept. 
Lest he our marching home should intercept. 
But Col'nel Parker, odious was his crime, 
Had them commanded off" before that time ; 
When Ramsay boldly, with his foot and horse, 
Came quickly up to intercept our course. 
This great surprise did all our spirits damp, 
We fear'd our men were slain round Ramsay's camp. 
But CoFnel Murray and brave Aubery, 
Oppos'd the foe and forc'd them back to fly, 
Till all our heroes, cover'd with renown, 
From this brisk fight got safely into town. 
Parker and Hamill to our aid both run. 
With Wigton pushing on a loaded gun ; 
But their assistance came to us too late, 
For Ramsay then had forced us to retreat. 
Parker considered it but policy, 
To fly that evening to the enemy ; 
k2 



114 HISTORY OF THE 

His Coleraine regiment brave Lance obtain'd, 
And in our service lasting glory gain'd." 

Mackinzie states, in corroboration of the foregoing state- 
ment of Parker's treachery, that this officer was sent out with 
a rear guard of infantry, to cover the retreat of those who 
had sallied out with Murray this day, and that at the moment 
when the citizens from the walls saw a body of the enemy 
advance to intercept their return, he appeared so slow and neg- 
ligent in the discharge of his important duty, as to expose the 
returning victors to imminent danger. He was threatened 
with a court martial for this misconduct, upon which he left 
the city in the night and deserted to the enemy. 

It was not without great address and considerable difficulty, 
even under their present circumstances, that the harmony ne- 
cessary for the preservation of all descriptions of Protestants 
w'as preserved among the members of the Established Church 
and the various Dissenters at this time in Londonderry. The 
episcopal clergy had suffered heavily from the Presbyterians 
in Scotland, the persecution there was nearly at its height at 
this time, and even William, who established Presbyterianism 
on the ruins of their church, afterwards found it necessary to 
open an inlet and shelter for some of them, by translating 
Dr. Alexander Cairncross from the Archbishopric of Glas- 
gow to the See of Raphoe, in the neighbourhood of London- 
derry. 

In the two preceding reigns Lord Dundee, Captain Creigh- 
ton, and others, had made very severe retaliations on the Co- 
venanters, so that both parties were under strong and unhappy 
temptations to dislike each other, when they found it necessary 
at this time to unite for their common preservation. This 
feeling was nearly brought into fatal operation on one or two 
occasions during the earlier part of the siege. On one of these, 
a Mr. Hewson stepped forward, and declared that no man was 
worthy to fight for the Protestant religion who would not take 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 115 

the solemn league and covenant ; and on another, the confor- 
mists and non -conformists were drawn up in the Diamond to 
fight for the cathedral church. Hewson's insane proposal, 
however, was treated with merited neglect, and the dispute 
about the cathedral was soon settled by the Conformists, who 
were heretofore in undisturbed possession of it, consenting that 
the others should have the use of it for one half of the Lord's 
day, and also on every Thursday during the siege. The Non- 
conformists had also meetings in different parts of the city, 
and all the congregations in the church and out of it, made 
very considerable contributions after divine service for the re- 
lief of the sick and wounded soldiers, of whom the greatest 
care was taken. The clergy and ministers of all denomina- 
tions were indeed equally careful of their people, exhibiting an 
example of moderation and kindness towards each other, 
worthy of imitation at all times, but indispensable to their 
common safety on this trying occasion. They enjoined their 
respective congregations to forget their distinctions, and join as 
one man in defence of the Protestant Religion, reminding 
them of their perilous situation : they pointed to the water 
which enclosed them on the one side, and to the camp and 
batteries of twenty thousand enemies surrounding them in 
every other direction. They then betook themselves to their 
several devotions, recommending their sacred cause to the care 
of the Almighty God. 

Walker's reflections on the nineteenth of this eventful month 
are so characteristic of the circumstances of the city at the 
time, and so honourable to himself as a divine and a writer, 
that they cannot be omitted here. " It did," says he, " beget 
amongst us some disorder and confusion, when we looked 
about us and saw what we were doing; our enemies all about 
us, and our friends running away from us; a garrison we had, 
composed of a number of poor people, frightened from their 
own homes, and seemingly more fit to hide themselves than U 



116 HISTORY OF THE 

face an enemy. When we considered that we had no persons 
of experience in war amongst us, and those very persons that 
were sent to assist us, had so little confidGnce in the place, 
that they no sooner saw it than they thought fit to leave it ; 
that we had but few horse to sally out with, and no forage ; 
no engineers to instruct us in our works, no fire-works, not as 
much as a hand-grenade to annoy the enemy ; not a gun well 
mounted in the whole town ; that we had so many mouths to 
feed, and not above ten days' provisions for them in the opinion 
of our former governors ; that every day several left us and 
gave constant intelligence to the enemy; that they had so 
many opportunities to divide us, and so often endeavoured to 
do it, and to betray the governors; that they were so nume- 
rous, so powerful, and so well appointed an army, that in all 
human probability we could not think ourselves in less danger 
than the Israelites at the Red Sea. When we considered all 
this, it was obvious enough what a dangerous undertaking we 
had ventured upon; but the resolution and courage of our peo- 
ple, and the necessity we were under, and the great confidence 
and dependence among us on God Almighty, that he would 
take care of us and preserve us, made us overlook all those 
difficulties. And God was pleased to make us the happy in- 
struments of preserving this place, and to him we give the 
glory ; and no one need go about to undervalue or lessen those 
he was pleased to choose for so great a work ; we do allow 
ourselves to be as unfit as they can make us, and that God 
has only glorified himself in working so great a wonder 
with his own right hand and his holy arm, getting to himself 
the victory." 

The governors, Baker and Walker, now examined the 
stores, continuing the old keepers of them in their places for 
some time, until on their contents being much diminished they 
were all put into org house, which was carefully kept by Mr. 
John Harvey and his brother Samuel, during the whole time 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 117 

of the siege. Persons were also appointed to search all cellars 
and private stores, from which they brought to the common 
stock a very considerable addition, which had been brought 
into the city by private gentlemen and others who had taken 
refuge in it. 

On this twenty-fifth of April, the Rev. Andrew Hamilton, 
with Mr. Anthony Dobbin, a justice of the peace, resident in 
the neighbourhood of Derry, went to the Irish camp at the 
hour of nine or ten o'clock in the morning. At that time a 
party of the besieged had sallied from the city, and were 
skirmishing with some part of the besieging army. These 
gentlemen had an errand from Enniskillen to General Hamil- 
ton, who being engaged with the troops that were fighting, did 
not return for a considerable time. While they waited for him, 
they heard several shots going off within a short distance be- 
hind them, and inquiring the cause, were told by a soldier that 
there was good sport, for the men had got hold of an English 
or Scotch witch, who had attempted to destroy their horses by 
enchantment, and had been caught in the act of gathering their 
dung for that purpose. Mr. Hamilton entreated some of the 
Irish officers with whom he was acquainted to save the unfor- 
tunate woman's life. Mr. Dobbin and he then went with 
them towards the place from which the noise of the firing 
came, and as they got within twenty or thirty yards of it, they 
saw a woman at least seventy years of age, sitting with her 
breast laid bare, and before they had time to interfere for her 
protection, one of the soldiers came up to her, held the muzzle 
of his musket close to her breast, and shot her dead. Being 
bad marksmen, they had been firing at her from some little 
distance, and none of their former shots had the desired effect, 
though she was wounded in several places. An army com- 
posed of such men as this, could not prove ultimately success- 
ful over an intelligent and humane enemy, let their numerical 
superiority be ever so great, and so the event of this summer's 



118 HISTORY OF THE 

campaign fully proved. It appeared, on inquiry, that this 
poor victim of superstition and cruelty, who lived near Derry, 
had been robbed of her substance, and hearing that the Irish 
camp was full of provisions, and that the officers and soldiers 
were very civil to all who went to them, she had gone there 
that morning to beg a little food among the tents, and a man 
passing by her with a load of oatmeal thrown across his horse, 
the sack burst and some of its contents falling upon horse 
dung, after the man had gathered up as much as he thought 
fit, the wretched woman went forward and was taking the 
dung out of the dirty meal that remained on the road, when a 
fellow who saw her do so called out that she was a witch 
gathering their horse dung that the Derry-men might get the 
better of them ; upon this a crowd gathered about her and 
used her in the cruel manner above related. It is a very com- 
mon opinion among the Irish, that the excrements of any ani- 
mal being burned, a mortal dysentery will ensue to the body 
from which they have been discharged ; and in this way did 
the superstitious savage imagine that a decrepid old woman 
could dismount a regiment of cavalry, and turn the fate of a 
battle. 

On the night of the twenty-sixth the bombs played hotly on 
the city, with little intermission, from the setting of the sun 
until morning. This night was one of intense suffering,- ter- 
ror prevailed in all directions, except in the hearts of the in- 
trepid heroes under arms. The shrieks of women and children 
formed a terrific contrast with the thunder of the artillery, and 
the crash of walls and houses thrown down by the shells. 
One of the victims of this night's cannonade was Mrs. Susan- 
nah Holding, a gentlewoman aged eighty years, who was 
killed in Mr. Long's house, where many other persons were 
wounded. 

About the twenty-seventh Captain Darcy, who had been 
brought from Scotland by Captain James Hamilton, and left 



SIEGE 6f derry. 119 

prisoner in Derry on a charge of having deserted King Wil- 
liam's service in England, got a pass from the Governor, and 
left the city with his horse and arms. He had bought some 
horses from Lieutenant-Colonel Whitney, which were said not 
to have belonged to that gentleman, who was tried for this and 
other misdemeanors, and being found guilty of being no friend 
to the garrison, was committed to prison, where he was kept 
during the remainder of the siege. Captain Monro succeeded 
to the command of his regiment. That of Coleraine, from 
which Parker had deserted, was given to Captain Lance. 

The regiments were now regulated as they remained during 
the siege; they were seven in number, six of infantry and one 
of cavalry. Mitchelburn's consisted of seventeen companies; 
Walker's of fourteen; Monro's and Crofton's of twelve each; 
Lance's of thirteen, and Hammel's of fifteen. Colonel Mur- 
ray's regiment of horse consisted of eight troops. Besides 
these regimented men, there w^ere several volunteers in the 
city who did good service, as Captains Joseph Johnston, Wil- 
liam Crooke, Mr. David Kennedy, and many others, who were 
frequently out upon service. Crooke's leg was broke by a 
piece of a bomb, which caused his death. 

On the twenty-eighth the besieged sallied out and killed 
several of the enemy at Pennyburn-mill, but were forced by a 
body of horse to retreat with the loss of two men killed, and 
eight or ten wounded. Admiral Herbert being at this time on 
the south coast of Ireland, discovered the French fleet on the 
twenty-ninth of this month, and the next day received intelli- 
gence of their having gone to Baltimore, being in number forty 
sail ; but on pursuing them, the scouts discovered that they had 
got into Bantry Bay. The English admiral lay off the bay all 
night, and next morning stood in, when he found the enemy 
at anchor. They soon, however, got under sail, and bore 
down- upon him in a line composed of twenty-eight men of war 
and five fire ships. When they came within musket shot of 



120 HISTORY OF THE 

the Defence, which led the van, the French admiral put out the 
signal of battle, which was begun by their firing their great 
and small shot at the English ships as they came into the line. 
After several ineffectual attempts to engage the enemy closer, 
Admiral Herbert finding his fleet in a disadvantageous situa- 
tion, put off to sea, as well to get his ships in a line as to gain 
the wind of the enemy; but he found them so cautious in bear- 
ing down, that he could not get an opportunity to accomplish 
his purpose, and so continued battering upon a stretch till five 
o'clock in the afternoon, when the French admiral stood into 
the bay. Admiral Herbert's ship and some others being se- 
verely disabled in their rigging, could not follow them, but con- 
tinued for a short time after before the bay, and gave the 
enemy a shot at parting. In this action, which the French 
reckoned a victory. Captain George Aylmer, of the Portland, 
with one Lieutenant and ninety-four seamen were killed, the 
number of the wounded amounted to two hundred and fifty. 
Admiral Herbert, however, sustained no other loss, and got 
safe with his fleet into Plymouth a week afterwards. It seems 
unaccountable that it did not occur to the French admiral, 
now that the coast was clear for him, to bring his fleet round 
to Lough-Swilly or Lough-Foyle, rather than expose the arms, 
ammunition, and military stores it contained, to the delay and 
the dangers of a land-carriage from Cork to Londonderry, by 
wretched roads and many hostile tracts of country. But 
James's counsels appeared to have been such as to insure his 
final defeat; his intelligence was usually false or exaggerated, 
and the measures he adopted frequently calculated to disgust 
even his friends. His subserviency to the French ambassador 
was apparent, and a report went forth at this time very much 
to his prejudice, that he had agreed to put Ireland into the 
hands of Louis, to become a province of France, in return for 
the assistance given him to recover the rest of his dominions. 
On the last day of April the street on the Ship-quay side of 



SIEGK OF DERRY. 121 

the Diamond of Londonderry was barricaded, between Cun- 
ningham's and Boyd's corners, with timber, stones, and rub- 
bish, to secure the market-house from the enemy's cannon ; 
and at the sam.e time a shot from one of the bastions killed 
the chief gunner of the Irish army, and broke one of his pieces 
of cannon. About this time Lieutenant-Colonel Lloyd, by or- 
der of the Governor of Enniskillen, took a party of horse and 
foot from that town towards Omagh, where the Irish had a 
garrison. This post was too strong to warrant his making 
any attempt against it, but he drove all the cattle in the neigh- 
bourhood of it before him to Augher, where the enemy had 
another garrison in the castle, which they abandoned before 
he had arrived at it. To prevent their repossessing themselves 
of this strong hold, on his departure he burned it to the ground, 
and defaced the fortifications about it. He then proceeded into 
the county of Monaghan, and returned to Enniskillen with a 
very great prey of cows and sheep, which proved a most sea- 
sonable relief to the poor people in and about that town ; for 
on the return of that party a good milch cow might have been 
bought from the soldiers for half a crown, and a dry cow or 
an ox cheaper. Towards the end of this month some choice 
troops of horse and companies of foot reinforced the Enniskil- 
leners from Ballyshannon. They had formed part of Lord 
Kingston's troops, and had marched with him from Sligo, 
when, by Luridy's orders, that nobleman led his army into the 
county of Donegal. The Governor of Enniskillen then erected 
a fort on the common hill near the stone-bridge, at his own 
expense, and it afterwards proved to be a great strength and 
protection to the town. 

A circumstance is mentioned in the poem found at Armagh, 
respecting the lather, of Colonel Murray, which, ^^ mutatis mu- 
tandis,^^ may be related with propriety in a work which aims 
at giving a vivid representation of the varied scenes of this in- 
teresting period of Irish history : — 



122 HISTORY OF THE 

"General Hamilton takes Colonel Murray's aged father 
prisoner, and sends him to move his son to quit the town. 

" Now Hamilton had got intelligence 
That Murray's father liv'd not far from hence, 
Aged above eighty years, for him he sent, • 
And brought the old man captive to his tent. 
Pray, said the sage, your business with me tell ? 
Your son, said he, sir, ventures to rebel 
Against his king. He holds that city out, 
Him you may counsel better without doubt. 
On yon tall gibbet reaching to the sky, 
Your bones shall hang if he does not comply, 
And yield the town — go tell him so, or die ; 
And here you must your sacred honour pawn. 
To bring the answer e'er to-morrow's dawn. 
Old Murray answers, he will not disown 
His due allegiance to King William's throne ; 
But, as I must obey you, I will try 
If with such cruel terms he will comply : 
I found my son, sir, from his early youth 
A paragon of steadiness and truth ; 
A scion worthy of his ancient line, 
Respecting law both human and divine, 
Form'd, mind and body, for some great design. 
In haste the vet'ran's guarded to the town, 
And meets his son then cover'd with renown. 
As on the street the youthful hero stood, 
His steel still reeking with the Frenchman's blood. 
Son, said the sire, this Bible in my hand 
Must give due sanction to my last command; 
Swear now, I charge you, that in town or field 
To James's power you will never yield; 
That for our faith you'll spend your latest breath, 
And choose with me sweet liberty or death. 
Father, says Murray, as he dropp'd a tear, 
That voice I love so dearly wounds my ear. 
Imputing treachery or slavish fear. 
The deeds I do, I cannot stoop to tell, 
But all my gallant friends here know me well; 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 123 

Why then through dangers have you made such speed, 

To give me counsel which I do not need ? 

Adam, said he, I never could have meant 

Such imputation, but I have been sent 

By Hamilton, to tell you I must die. 

Unless with his commands you now comply, 

Give up the town or from its ramparts fly. 

But now, my long lov'd son, my darling child. 

Who on my knee so oft have sweetly smil'd, 

Cheering a father's and a mother's heart, 

I've made my last request, and I depart ; 

Hamilcar's task was mine, and now I go 

To meet, like Regulus, an angry foe ; 

He may command my instant execution. 

But Murray's blood will seal the revolution. 

In such a case I could die ten times o'er. 

And count it gain to bleed at eighty-four. 

Stay, said a voice, stay Murray with your son, 

His race of glory is but just begun; 

Maumont's career arrested by his steel, 

His sword's sharp edge this Hamilton shall feel. 

Ill fare the man whose cunning could engage 

In such a task your venerable age. 

No, no, said he, not thus is glory won. 

My word is pledg'd, a soldier's course I run, 

" Take honour from me and my life is done." 

Then peals of thund'ring cannon rend the air. 

And v/arlike trumpets from the city bear 

Defiance to the foe's detested arts, 

As for the camp the veteran departs. 

The gallant Hamilton forgives the fraud. 

If such it was and ventures to applaud 

Without reserve, a more than Spartan deed, 

Which well became the Murrays of the Tweed ; 

From Philiphaugh this hero's fathers came, 

A line long known in rolls of Scottish fame. 

No longer forc'd through hostile bands to roam, 

A guard of honour guides the old man home ; 

Where he was suffer'd undisturb'd to dwell, 

Though by his son the Irish army fell." 



124 HISTORY OP THE 

The reader will, no doubt, forgive the liberty here taken 
with the coarse original of the foregoing lines, which have 
been rendered into intelligible language, as the tales of 
Chaucer and satires of Dr. Donne have been translated by 
Pope. 

On the first day of May a cannon ball fell among a com- 
pany of foot who were marching up Ship-quay street, and 
wounded two men. A shell also fell where Colonel Mitchel- 
burn's men were exercising in the Bogside, and killed one 
man, who remained on his feet till it burst. The rest threw 
themselves down on the ground, by which means they escaped 
unhurt. 

On the second of this month the Irish garrison in Omagh 
sent two men into the parish of Kilskerry, within five miles of 
Enniskillen, who, in the night, stole away about twenty or 
thirty cows. In the morning the owners, missing their cows, 
and seeing their track on the road towards Omagh, sent some 
of their neighbours in quest of them. Accordingly, eight of 
them who undertook this task, overtook the cattle within a few 
miles of Omagh ; but the thieves, unluckily escaping, fled into 
the garrison and gave the alarm there. Before the Kilskerry 
men had got half way on their return home, they were over- 
taken by twenty-four well mounted dragoons from Omagh ; 
the poor men, being eight in number, had but bad horses and 
few arms. Three of them, on the approach of the dragoons, 
left their horses, and escaped into a bog ; the other five, think- 
ing they need fear no injury for having taken back their own 
cattle, submitted, and had quarter given to them. The dra- 
goons, leaving a guard with the five prisoners, followed the 
other three into the bog, but being unable to overtake them, 
returned back to those they had left on the road, and after 
carrying them a little way back with them, barbarously mur- 
dered them all, cutting them so in the face with their swords, 
that their friends scarce knew one of them when they found 



SIEGE OP DERBY. 125 

them. This was the usual quarter given by the Irish soldiers 
to the prisoners who submitted to them, which was the princi- 
pal cause of the obstinate defence both of Londonderry and 
Enniskillen. Bellew, the Governor of Omagh, sent an ex- 
press, on the morning after this cruel murder, to General Ha- 
milton, before Derry, acquainting him that a party of his gar- 
rison had killed above one hundred of the Enniskilleners, call- 
ing every man twenty; which news, in a dearth of better, 
went through the whole of the Irish camp, and caused great 
joy there. Richard Burton says, in his History of the King- 
dom of Ireland (page 80), that some of Galmoy's dragoons, in 
the course of this unsuccessful campaign against the Protes- 
tants, caused two gentlemen, who had taken arms under 
Colonel Saunderson, to be hanged on a sign-post at Belna- 
hatty, and their heads being cut off, the horrid scene of Bel- 
turbet was a second time exhibited by their kicking the heads 
about the streets like foot-balls. 

About the beginning of this month Colonel Mitchelburn was 
suspected by Governor Baker and the garrison. The latter, 
after a personal scuffle with him, confined him to his chamber, 
and he continued for some time a prisoner, but he never was 
tried by a council of war. At this time Baker, fearing lest 
some treacherous persons within the city should work mines 
in the cellars 'near the walls, took with him an active and zea- 
lous defender of the city, Mr. William Macky, and searched 
all the under-ground apartments adjoining to the walls, under 
pretence of examining the provisions, but they found nothing 
to justify their apprehensions. On the second of this month, 
fourteen or fifteen cannon-shots were fired against the city, but 
none of them did any damage. Three of them struck the 
market-house, and one against the town-clock; they knocked 
down some slates and rubbish, but did no farther injury. 

On the third there were nine pieces of cannon discharged 
against the city in tiie forenoon, and two in the afternoon, by 

l2 



126 HISTORY OF THE 

which there were only two men wounded; one lost a leg and 
another an arm. During the night of this day some of the 
enemy came to the Bog-side and fired at the sentinels on the 
wall, which the guard at Butchersgate returned with interest, 
but no harm was done on either side. Major Fitzsimmons's 
company were stationed on that part of the wall this night. 
On the fourth of May, Captain Folliot, Governor of Ballyshan- 
non, sent an express to Enniskillen, stating that a considera- 
ble body of men had arrived there from Connaught, to besiege 
that place. He sent the summons he had got, and prayed 
for speedy relief, which was sent to him immediately after- 
wards. 

The enemy's camp was now every day moving nearer to 
the city of Londonderry, and few days passed without vigor- 
ous sallies from the gates. The parties who went out were 
commanded by one or more of the following distinguished offi- 
cers : Col. Murray, Captains Noble, Dunbar, Adams, Wilson, 
Hamilton, Beatty, Saundersons sen. and jun., Shaw, Wright, 
M'Cormick, Bashford, and Cunningham. Great services were 
also rendered to the city by Major Alexander Stewart, Major 
John Dobbins, and Lieuts. Dunlop and Maghlin. Some of 
these went out with small parties of gentlemen volunteers, and 
sometimes of private soldiers, and they seldom returned with- 
out doing execution on the enemy, or bringing in some prey. 
Captain Noble and others found several letters in the pockets 
of the slain, giving some intelligence, particularly respecting 
the surrender of Culmore. It appeared by them that Lundy, 
as he passed, sent a message to the garrison that Londonderry 
had surrendered; they had but little ammunition at the time, 
and had lost eight of their guns, which captain Jemmet, by 
order of the false Governor, had sent into the city, and this, it 
was stated, inclined them to surrender. 

In the night of the fifth the besiegers drew a trench across 
the Wind-mill hill, from the bog to the river, and there began 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 127 

to erect a battery for the purpose of annoying the town walls, 
which were much too strong for the guns against them. The 
Derry-men, with equal spirit and good humour, advised the 
men who worked in this trench and battery, to save themselves 
the trouble, labour, and expense, of such an undertaking, of- 
fering to open a wider passage for them through the gates than 
their cannon could make in the walls, at any time they should 
feel disposed to try their fortune in the city. A little after 
midnight, provoked perhaps by those taunts, Brigadier-General 
Ramsay came to the wind-mill, and dislodging the out-guards 
there possessed himself of the place, and before sun-rise had 
the works they had begun in the evening completed to the 
water side. The guard which had been driven from the wind- 
mill retired to the half-moon on the outside of the Bishop's- 
gate, and those who had driven them in intrenched themselves 
on the ground they had gained, by making a strong double 
ditch across the high road near Robert Harvey's house. This 
ditch was levelled upon fifteen of their dead bodies next day. 
At an early hour of Monday the sixth of May, the besieged 
fearing that the battery erected near the wind-mill might in- 
jure that part of the town nearest to it, resolved to demolish it, 
and at the same moment a great number of the enemy coming 
near the town wall, fired at the guards, which alarmed the 
garrison. Walker, apprehensive that an escalade, which had 
often been threatened, was now about to be attempted, instantly 
drew out a detachment of ten men from each company, and 
after putting them into the best order their impatience allowed, 
sallied out of the Ferryquay-gate at their head, in the deepest 
silence, at the hour of four o'clock in the morning. Mackinzie 
assigns this command to Baker, but Ash, more correctly it is 
probable than either, says that the sally was commanded by 
both of the Governors, whose efforts on that occasion had 
been as diligent as they proved successful. At the moment 
when one body of the citizens had proceeded out at Ferry quay- 



128 HISTORY OF THE 

gate, another burst forth from the Bishop's-gate, and joining 
their force advanced impetuously on the enemy. Some of 
them drove the Irish dragoons from the hedges, while others 
took possession of their trenches. The Derry-men pursued 
the retiring foe so closely, that it soon came to what has been 
termed club musket. The dragoons and infantry took flight 
in great confusion. Ramsay in vain endeavouring to rally 
them, was killed upon the spot, with many other officers; the 
pursuit was continued beyond all the ditches to the top of the 
hill. The ground contended for was gained by the victors, 
with four or five stand of colours, several drums, fire-arms, 
spades, shovels, and pickaxes, with some ammunition and the 
plunder of the dead. The enemy lost Brigadier- General Ram- 
say, Captains Fleming, Fox and Barnwell, with Lieutenants 
Kelly and Welsh, and Ensigns Barnwell and Kadell killed. 
The prisoners were Lord Netterville, Sir Garret Aylmer, 
Lieut. Colonel Talbot, Lieutenant and Adjutant Newcomen. 
Colonel Gordon O'Neill was wounded in the thigh. Lord 
Netterville and Sir Garret Aylmer were badly wounded; they 
were treated with kindness and the respect due to their rank, 
being confined in a private house, that of Mr. Thomas Moore, 
and a guard placed over them. The Irish lost in this rout, as 
it may be termed, about two hundred men killed, many of 
them shot in the face, forehead and breast, over their own 
lines, as they were firing with little or no effect, upon their 
more steady and skilful opponents. Walker says that no less 
than five hundred of them were wounded, three hundred of 
whom died afterwards of their wounds. On the Derry side, 
some Cew were wounded, and but three or four privates killed. 
Towards the end of the skirmish some of the garrison went 
out and posted themselves judicious^ between the wind-mill 
and the strand, fearing the Irish, who were in great numbers 
on the top of the hill above the river side, should rally again 
and get between the pursuers and the city. Several of these 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 129 

men lined the ditches very near the enemy, to prevent them 
from coming down, but they showed no disposition to do so. 
The whole affair was over at noon, and in the evening the 
Governors sent a drum to General Hamilton, desiring he 
would bury his dead. This was done the next day in a very 
negligent manner, the soldiers who were sent to perform this 
duty scarcely covering the bodies with earth. General Ram- 
say was interred at the Long-tower, much lamented by all 
who knew him. Fie was reckoned the most efficient officer in 
the Irish army, with the exception of General Hamilton. In 
the course of this day Quartermaster Murdagh was killed by 
a shot on the forehead at the church bastion. 

The author of the poem found at Armagh thus describes this 
battle of Wind-mill Hill :— 

" Now gallant Ramsay, in a strong array 
Entrench'd five thousand men by break of day 
On Wind-mill Hill, and threaten'd instant fate 
To all who dared to open Bishop's-gate. 
To check this force, our Governors command, 
And from the town lead forth a gallant band. 
Dunbar and Bashford round by the steep way. 
Which from the city leads to Ferry-quay, 
Rush to the trenches, and the Irish slay. 
Whilst Wilson, Fleming, Gunter, and brave Moore, 
Out-flank their foe-men and the day secure. 
Forbes like thunder towards the trenches flew, 
And with his sword a crowd of foe-men slew. 
In that attack was valiant Ramsay slain, 
Of full five thousand scarcely half remain. 
Dobbin as Major some bold heroes led, 
Before whose swords the frighted Irish fled. 
From trench to trench did Pogue undaunted fly. 
And with his sword cut down the enemy. 
Lord Netterville a prisoner was made, 
Proud Talbot's capture Hamilton dismay'd. 
Sir Garret Aylmer, with a bleeding wound, 
Unable to resist or run was found. 



130 JIISTOEY OF THE 

At length when wearied were the gallant foot, 
Our horsemen came and made a hot pursuit j 
To Bally magrorty we the foe pursue, 
And all along the brow their forces slew. 
Murdagh, our trusty Quartermaster's slain, 
Who in all actions did great honour gain ; 
Ready to go on each forlorn command, 
Full six or seven men he could withstand. 
And though he's gone his fame shall never die, 
While Derry's tale is told in poetry. 
Their magazine we forc'd them to destroy, 
They blew it up, we heard the sound with joy. 
When rich in spoil, "and cover'd with renown, 
We march triumphant to our happy town. 
King William's welcome men and maidens sing. 
Shouts rend the clouds, and joy-bells sweetly ring." 

The historical drama also gives an interesting account of 
this day's battle, stating the Irish forces defeated to have been 
Sir Maurice Eustace's fusileers, with the regiments of foot com- 
manded by Colonels Butler and O'Neill, supported by Lord 
Galmoy's horse. 

SCENE CHANGES TO THE FRENCH CAMP. 

Enter Hamilton, Sheldon and Waucop. 

"You talked of trenches; what signified trenches when the 
enemy flanked us? Indeed had we trenches on the flanks that 
would have been something; for when the rebels came upon 
us with two bodies of men, and charged our right and left, we 
were then obliged to quit our trenches, and draw into a body ; 
we lay open then to their guns from the walls, which made 
lanes through our men. 

Enter an Officer. 

Officer. — " The fight seems dubious ; great opposition upon 
both sides. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 131 

Enter another Officer. 

Officer. — "Our men fall extremely fast; what the rebels 
want in skill they have in courage. 

Enter a third Officer. 

Officer. — " Our men give ground, and unless you appear 
among them, the victory will fall to the rebel side. 
Hamilton. — " That shall not be wanting. 

SCENE CHANGES TO LONDONDERRY. 

Enter Governor Baker, Colonel Campbell, and the Town 
Major. 

Baker. — " The day is ours, the enemy is fled. 

Campbell. — " Murray is in hot pursuit with his cavalry, 
but where is Mitchelburn? 

Toimi Major. — " He v/ill be here presently, he only staid to 
give Murray the necessary orders, how far he should pursue 
the enemy. 

Enter Mitchelburn and Walker. 

Mitchelburn. — "I think between our right and left we pep- 
pered them off. 

Baker. — "They will hardly come to the Wind-mill these 
two days again. 

Mitchelburn. — " That regiment of Sir Maurice Eustace's, 
with their caps, stood stiffly to their business ; but when they 
saw me lead up my last reserve of five hundred men, they 
took to their heels. How like stags they bounded over the 
ditches, and our men like true bred beagles scoured after them 
in full cry. 

\_A great shout within. 

" Make room for my Lord Netterville. 
[^His Lordship enters, two Soldiers supporting him; three of 

his fingers cut ofi\ and a wound in his face; he appears a 

lusty fat man; they set him down in a chair. ^ 



132 HISTOKY OF THK 

Baker. — " Who, Sir, are you ? 

Nettermlle, — " The unfortunate Lord Netterville. 

jBaArer.— " What ! My Lord Netterville? 

Netterville. — "So they call me; I am three score and ten, 
and yet must turn soldier in my old age ; my spirits faint, 
pray let me lie down. 

Walker.' — " Get a surgeon immediately, his Lordship is 
fainting; bring a glass of sack quickly. — \_Sack brov^ht.'] 

Baker. — " My service to your Lordship. 

Netterville. — " I thank you, Sir.— [ZTe takes the luinc.'] 
Pray do me the favour to let me lie down somewhere. 

Baker, — " Your Lordship shall have a good room, an aired 
bed, and excellent quarters. — {Exit Lord Netterville and 
his attendants.'] 

[Enter Serjeants, bringing in Colonel Talbot on a hand- 
barrow, covered with blood. After him Sir Garret Ayl- 

MER is brought in by the Soldiers and laid on the stage; 

Talbot is carried off.~\ ■ 

Baker. — " Pray who is that on the hand-barrow? 

Walker. — " It is Colonel Talbot, a near relation to Tyr- 
connel; he has been usually called wicked Will Talbot. 

Baker. — " He was blessed Will, that the soldiers did not 
knock him on the head ; I wish we had his cousin Tyrconnel 
in his room. 

Town Major. — " As I and some others were viewing the 
bodies, we saw that of Brigadier-General Ramsay among them, 
the commander of the grand attack. We found Hamilton's 
order in his pocket-book; the word was 'NO QUARTERP 

Baker. — " Let a parley be beat, that they may come and 
bury their dead. — [Exit Town Major.] 

SCENE CHANGES TO THE IRISH CAMP, 

-E/i^er Hamilton, Dorrington and Sheldon. 
Hamilton. — >" 'Tis yet uncertain how many principal offi- 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 133 

cers are lost in this unfortunate enterprise, neither is it known 
whether the rebels gave quarter or not. 

Dorrington. — " It is judged by all that our loss is very con- 
siderable. 

Sheldon. — " It would make one's heart bleed to see how 
many cart-loads of wounded are going off to St. Johnstown. 

Enter an Officer. 

Officer. — "Sad news! Sad news! Brigadier-General Ram- 
say is killed. 

Hamilton. — "It grieves my heart! Our great Maumont 
at Pennyburn-mill, and Ramsay at the Wind-mill. Indeed, a 
great loss ! 

[Enter an Express f?'07n Dublin to General Hamilton, 
which he reads.'\ 

" Sir, — The king is much dissatisfied with your slow proceedings, 
the great defeat you have met with, and the loss of so many consider- 
able men. Marshal Rosen is marching to besiege Enniskillen with 
ten thousand men, and then will advance to join you. flis Majesty 
is impatient till the town of Londonderry is reduced; it stops all his 
measures, and utterly ruins his cause. The eight hundred men sent 
to Lord Dundee are safely arrived in the Highlands of Scotland. 
Edinburgh Castle is stoutly defended by the Duke of Gordon, — I am 
well. MELFORT. 

Hamilton. — " Famine and plague light upon this perverse 
town of Derry ! The holders of it persist and glory in their 
wickedness, pride and rebellion. They are even building two 
privateers, whick, I fear will be launched in two or three days, 
which will harass and fatigue our men, especially those on the 
river side. I have nothing to say in answer to this express, 
but that there are fifty or sixty ships discovered at sea making 
for this harbour, which no question, is for the relief of the 
rebels." 



IM HISTORY OF THE 

On the night of the defeat of the Irish at Wind-mill hill, the 
Governor of Eiiniskillen sent to all the garrisons under his 
command, ordering them to send him speedily all the armed 
men they could spare ; and the next day, May the seventh, he 
sent Colonel Lloyd with about twelve companies of infantry 
and some troops of horse towards Ballyshannon. They met 
the enemy's horse near Belleck, a village three miles nearer 
to Enniskillen than Ballyshannon, where they soon put them 
to the rout, killing about one hundred and twenty of them, and 
taking about half that number prisoners. All the Irish infan- 
try fled towards Sligo and escaped, except a few who were 
taken in the Fish Island, near Ballyshannon, with their Cap- 
tain, one M'Donagh, a counsellor at law, commonly known by 
the name of blind M'Donagh. The victors got two small 
pieces of cannon, several serviceable horses and some good 
arms. Thus was Ballyshannon relieved by the Enniskil- 
leners, whose first time it was to encounter the enemy in the 
field with horse and foot. Their success in the beginning of 
such undertakings, encouraged them very much, and they re- 
turned to their quarters without losing one man. Immediately 
after this an express was sent to them from Colonel Sarsfield, 
proposing an exchange of some prisoners which the Irish had 
at Gal way and Ballinrobe, for those who had been taken at 
Ballyshannon. The Governor, recollecting how Lord Galmoy 
had behaved on a similar occasion, at Belturbet, desired Sars- 
field to send him the names of the prisoners he would exchange 
for those of Enniskillen. Sarsfield delayed sending an an- 
swer for a month, and in the meantime, he ordered all the 
Protestants in the province of Connaught, notwithstanding the 
protection they had got from him and other officers, to be put 
into the gaol of Sligo ; and then he sent their names to the 
Governor of Enniskillen, pretending that Sir Thomas South- 
well and some other prisoners in Galway, were to be sent to 
England, in exchange for some Irish prisoners kept there. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 135 

The Governor, suspecting fraud, declined to make the ex- 
change; upon which Sarsfield gave very harsh treatment to 
those be had in prison, scarcely allowing them as much food 
as would keep them from starving. He made them send some 
of their wives with petitions to Enniskillen, stating their mis- 
eries, and thus succeeded in the deceit he practised upon a ge- 
nerous and humane enemy. All those who were sent in ex- 
change had been protected persons, not taken in arms, and 
therefore could not be deemed proper subjects of exchange for 
men taken in battle. It was, in fact, the experience of such 
faithless dealing and cruel usage of individuals, after promise 
of quarter, that some of the Enniskilleners were less merciful 
to the Irish in battle than they would have been to a civilized 
enemy, and for this reason they enjoyed an incredible propor- 
tion of quiet during this eventful campaign ; being a terror to 
their brutalized adversaries, few of whom attempted to expose 
themselves to the hazard of an attack, without great probabi- 
lity of success. 

While James's cause was going to ruin in Ulster, where he 
ought to have been at the head of his army, he assembled his 
pretended Parliament in Dublin, to repeal the Act of Settle- 
ment and outlaw the Protestants. It was in vain that the pur- 
chasers of property under the abovementioned act, remon- 
strated against the repeal of it ; many of these, particularly in 
the province of Con naught, were members of the Church of 
Rome, who, by such a measure, vv^ould be turned out of their 
estates and possessions, and be reduced to that state of poverty 
from which they had risen, under the mild sway of a Protes- 
tant government. His acts in this, as well as in many other 
respects, were little less injurious to those of his own religion 
than any other description of the people. The trade of the 
kingdom had been ruined by his government, and now, under 
the influence of the French ambassador, who controlled all his 
actions, and turned them to the advantage of his master, he 



136 HISTORY OF THE 

was endeavouring to find Spanish and Dutch vessels for the 
transporting of wool, hides, and other raw materials of the 
country, to France, from whence they were to be sent back 
manufactured, to the great advantage of foreign artisans, and 
to the impoverishment of ihe country which produced them. 
All preferments in James's army were now given to French- 
men, to the utter discontent and indignation of his Irish adhe- 
rents, who began to show, in the new Parliament, a disposition 
to take at least as much care of their own interest as that of 
the unfortunate king, whose difficulties and embarrassments 
began to multiply rapidly around him. He was fed by false 
reports of the surrender of Derry, and the defeat of a great 
body of Protestant rebels in the county of Down; and the ex- 
aggerated report of the victory over the English fleet at Bantry 
Bay, is recorded in terms of great asperity in the account of 
his life, which M'Pherson has published, as written by him- 
self. " The king," says he, " received the welcome news of 
the arrival of the French fleet in the bay of Bantry, and of the 
fight they had with the English, who were beaten and put to 
flight with as much ignominy as they had, with insolence and 
disrespect of the law of nations, attacked them. This arrival 
of the fleet, which brought a supply of officers, arms, and 
money, filled the court with general satisfaction." While this 
paradise of fools were exulting in contemplation of their ima- 
ginary victories, and studiously concealing the disastrous ac- 
counts which they every day received from the province of 
Ulster, the Protestants in Londonderry continued to maintain 
that city with a degree of success which surpassed their ut- 
most expectations. Owing to a damp cast upon the enemy 
by their loss at the Wind-mill hill, which, by the way, was 
diminished from two hundred, to thirty men, in the false ac- 
count of it which was sent to the unfortunate James, and also 
for want of cavalry among the besieged, some weeks of this 
month produced little more than skirmishes, in which Captain 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 137 

Nobie and many others continued to distinguish themselves. 
When they saw the enemy make an approach towards the 
city, they would run out with ten or twelve men and skirmish 
a while with them. When the besieged, who watched them 
closely from the walls, saw them too closely engaged, or in 
danger of being overpowered, they rushed out in great force 
to their relief, and always came off with great execution on 
the enemy, and with very little loss to themselves. On one of 
these occasioqs, however. Lieutenant Douglass was taken pri- 
soner and murdered, after quarter had been promised to him. 
The day after the opening of James's Parliament, Lord Mel- 
fort, his Secretary, wrote to Lord Walgrave, informing him 
that all Ireland, except the obstinate city of Londonderry, had 
been brought into subjection. 

At this time the two Captains Close left the city and took 
protections, as also did the Rev. John Brisben, a clergyman of 
the Established Church, mentioned by Mackinzie, but not by 
Walker or Ash. The clergymen who, according to Walker, 
staid with him in the city during the siege, were — 

The Rev. Michael Clenaghan, Minister of Londonderry. 
Seth. Whittel, Rector of Bellaghy. 
James Watmough, of Arigal. 
John Rowan, of Balteagh. 
Richard Crowther, Curate of Cumber. 
Thomas Semple, Curate of Donaghmore, near Clady- 

ford. 
Robert Morgan, Curate of Cappag, of the diocese of 

Derry. 
Thomas Jenny, Prebendary of Mullaghbrack. 
John Campbell, of Segoe. 
Moses Davies, of Stewartstown or Donaghendrie. 

Andrew Robinson, of 

Earth. Black, Curate of Aghanloo, 

Ellingsworth, Newry, of the diocese of Arningh. 

John Knox, Minister of Glasslough. 

Johnston, of 

M 2 



138 HISTORY OF THE 

The Rev. Christy-j Curate of Monaghan, of the diocese of 

Clogher. 
William Cunningham, of Killishandra, of the diocese of 
Kilmore. 

Five of these, viz. Whittel, Watmough, Rowan, Crovvther, 
and Ellingsworth, died during the siege. Mackinzie has left 
a list of the Non-Conforming Ministers, of which the following 
is a transcript: — 

"Messrs. Thomas Boyd, of Aghadowy; William Crooks, of Bally- 
kelly ; John Rowat, of Lifford ; John Mackinzie, of Derrioran; John 
Hamilton, of Donaghedy ; Robert Wilson, of Strabanej David 
Browne, of Urney ; William Gilchrist, of Kilrea." 

Of these the four last died during the siege. 

On the eleventh of May upwards of a thousand of the gar- 
rison went, at an early hour, from the Wind-mill to Penny- 
burn, with the expectation of finding the enemy in their tents, 
and Ideating them out of them. Two pieces of cannon, which 
happened to be near, wei'e discharged at them ; but although 
they received no injury from the shots, they soon found that 
they could not accomplish their purpose, and returned to the 
city. 

On the thirteenth a piece of cannon was fired up Pump 
street from the opposite side of the river ; it broke the leg of 
one boy and wounded another; it then rolled all the way to 
the church and stuck in the wall. The next day a ball came 
in the same direction, but did no harm; both of these were 
red-hot. At the same time one of the Derry-men was killed 
outside the wall, and as the enemy approached to strip him, 
some of his friends fired at them and brought the body off. 
Many guns were fired this day on both sides, but no injury 
was done to the city. 

On the sixteenth one of the Serjeants of the besieged was 
killed by the enemy. Several of the citizens imprudently 
went without orders to parley with the Irish, which obliged 



SIEGE OF DERKY. 139 

the garrison to fire some shots for the purpose of recalling 
them, by which four of the enemy were killed. The forenoon 
of the seventeenth turned out extremely wet, and nothing was 
done on either side during the whole of the day. 

On the eighteenth, according to Captain Ash's journal, for 
the date of this transaction is not given by Walker or Mackin- 
zie, a large party of the garrison went above Creggan, with 
Captains Noble and Cunningham, where they met the enemy, 
and were almost surrounded before they were aware. Cap- 
tain Cunningham and several of his men were killed after quar 
ter had been given to them, and many were wounded, several 
of whom died soon afterwards. 

The Irish now gave daily instances of falsehood and per- 
fidy, which confirmed an account given by one of their own 
people, a prisoner in the city, who, to ease a troubled con- 
science, confessed to Walker and others that they had all been 
bound by an obligation, both of oath and written resolutions, 
not to keep faitji with Protestants, and to break whatever arti- 
cles should become necessary to give them. When they hung 
out a white flag to invite the besieged to a treaty, Governor 
Walker ventured out to get within hearing of Lord Louth and 
Colonel O'Neill, and, as he passed, a hundred shots were fired 
at him by the perfidious enemy. He got into a house, and 
upbraiding some of their officers with this violation of faith 
and of common confidence between man and man in civilized 
warfare, desired that they would order their men to be quiet, 
or he would command the guns on the walls to be discharged 
at them. The only satisfaction he got was a denial that those 
he addressed were concerned in the shameful act, or knew any 
thing about it. By a flagrant breach of parole, they contrived 
to deprive the Derry-men of the only boat which remained 
with them, the rest having been taken away by those who had 
fled from the city, or been sent out of it on errands. They 
desired that one White, the owner of the boat, should be sent 



140 HISTORY OF THE 

to them, with two men, whom they promised to send back in 
it, but they detained both the men and the boat, to the great 
loss of those who had been credulous enough to rely on their 
word. Fifteen or sixteen of the besieged were killed in the 
sally, which proved fatal to Captain Cunningham. 

About this time the defenders of the city heard of the arri- 
val of Colonel Dorrington in the Irish camp, a circumstance 
eagerly communicated to them for the purpose of intimidation. 
This gentleman was esteemed to be a very able officer, and of 
such there was no superabundance in the besieging army. 
The historical drama marks his arrival as having taken place 
before the death of General Ramsay, in the engagement of the 
fourth of this month. This week the Governor, with the ad- 
vice of some officers, drew a line across the Wind-mill hill 
from the bog to the water. They secured it, when finished, 
with redoubts, to defend it from the enemy's cannon on the 
Prehet side of the river. This new line was guarded, both by 
night nd day, by the different regiments of^nfantry in their 
turn, for some time; but afterwards, on suspicion of an officer 
on that out-guard, it was kept by detachments out of each. 

The following is the account given of several of the above- 
mentioned enterprises in the Armagh poem : — 

" In a few days the Governor sends forth 
Full fifteen hundred soldiers to the north 
Of Creggan-burn, and this undaunted band, 
Noble and Cunningham conjoin'd command, 
The fort towards Inch they seiz'd with matchless force, 
But were surpris'd by Galmoy's troops of horse : 
Thirty stout men in this affair were lost, 
And in brave Cunningham alone a host, 
A prisoner, on articles, the foe 
Broke trust, and martial law, and laid him low. 
In many a bloody fray, severely tried, 
By a base murderer the hero died. 
Such deeds as these, grown frequent, caus'd disgust, 
And no man would an Irish promise trust. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 141 

Mean time brave Noble makes a safe retreat, 

At fair Brook- Hall the enemy we beat; 

And burn their fascines, there the strong Monroe, 

Cut down an Irishman at every blow. 

Irvine, a captain, admirably fought, 

Until he was disabled by a shot. 

His father, brave Sir Gerrard, dead and gone, 

Had been renown 'd for worth in forty-one. 

The bolts and bars of Londonderry gaol, 

To keep him captive prov'd of no avail. 

When Coote for loyalty a sentence gave, 

Which doom'd Fermanagh's hero to the grave. 

The foe our worsted men began to ehase, 

And to the city they retreat apace. 

The enemy, their army to secure, 

A trench began across the boggy moor. 

It griev'd our General's great heart and soul. 

To see them at this work without control ; 

He therefore led three thousand soldiers out, 

Who beat them in a trice from the redoubt, 

And cleared the trenches, but some troops of horse 

In turn repell'd them by their greater force. 

Three times our General the trenches gain'd, 

And on our side success would have remain'd, 

Had not bold Waucop with a fresh supply 

Compell'd our forces to the town to fiy j 

From which, because no timely succour came, 

Our Governors, for once, got worthy blame ; 

While in the glory valiant Captain Blair, 

With our commander, bore an equal share. 

On Sunday, the nineteenth, the body of Captain Cunningham 
was brought into Deny, and interred there next day with mi- 
Htary honours, when there was a solemn fast kept by the 
members of the Church of Scotland, and other Non-conform- 
ists. Besides the sermon in the cathedral on this occasion, 
their ministers preached in two other places of the city, and 
considerable collections were made for the poor, who now 
began to stand in need of them. In a short time afterwards 



142 HISTORY OF THE 

another fast was observed by the members of the Established 
Church. 

On the twenty-second the Derry-men killed five of the ene- 
my, and the next day many pieces of cannon were discharged 
on both sides, without doing any execution ; this could hardly 
have happened had the contending parties been veterans in the 
art of war. 

The Irish now moved the main body of their army from 
St. Johnstown, and pitched their tents upon Ballougry-hill, 
about two miles from Derry, S. S. W. They placed guards 
on all sides of the town, so that the besieged found it impossi- 
ble to receive or convey any intelligence, and had great diffi- 
culty in obtaining a sufficient supply of water, which they often 
had to seek for at the risk of their lives, and obtain by loss of 
blood. One gentleman, burning with thirst, raised a bottle of 
water to his head just as he took it out of the well, when a shot 
came from a dextrous and perhaps humane marksman, which 
shivered the glass about his lips. The water of the city be- 
came so muddy by the earth which was shaken into it by 
repeated concussions of the ground from the discharge of 
cannon on the walls, that the garrison were obliged to run 
these risks to obtain some fit for use. — A few filtering stones 
at this time would have been an invaluable acquisition. 

Three days were now spent, as if by mutual consent of the 
besiegers and besieged, in total inactivity; but before daylight 
on the twenty-seventh, three hundred of the latter, starting 
from the Wind-mill, divided into two equal parts, and proceed- 
ed to Ballougry on the one side, and Pennyburn on the other, 
in order to surprise the enemy's caiijp at these places. The 
assailants of Ballougry effected nothing; the others went near 
a fort which the enemy had erected, and fired briskly at the 
men in it, but with what effect was not known ; four of this 
party were wounded there, and two killed. Lieutenant Green 
led one of these parties, and Ensign Dunbar the other. On 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 143 

the same day the cannon from the city killed one of the Irish 
captains, and wounded two men. Captain Ash sent out his 
sister Gardiner, to her husband, under the protection of the 
surgeon who came to attend Lord Netterville. Captain For- 
tescue and her brother attended her beyond an orchard, where 
she passed into the enemy's lines. 

Two regiments of horse and foot now came from Strabane, 
and drew up above Captain Stuart's house, where they rested 
a while. Five pieces of cannon discharged at them from the 
church bastion, obliged them to retreat. On this day Major 
William Church was interred, and about the same time the 
enemy fired three pieces of cannon, a ball from one of which 
entered a window of the cathedral, but did no other damage. 
This day the horse-mill at the free school began to grind malt; 
this seems a trifling incident to be recorded, till we consider it 
as a proof that there could have been no great precaution used 
against approaching famine, when those who were fainting 
with hunger in July, had been malting their corn in May. 

On the twenty-eighth, as a troop of the enemy's horse were 
going down to Pennyburn, the cannon from the double bastion 
in the city killed three of them. Governor Baker rewarded 
the gunners with three pieces of money each, of a kind which 
Captain Ash denominated cobs. A bombardment being threat- 
ened on the next night, the Governor took one hundred and 
seven barrels of powder out of the church, and buried them in 
two places in Bishop-street, which had been wells, but were 
now dry. They placed them under tanned and green hides, 
and some beams of timber, covering all with rubbish and dung. 
In the evening a drum was beat through the city to warn the 
inhabitants to provide water in every house to quench the 
fire, if any should arise from the bombardment threatened that 
night. 

The morning of the thirtieth of May arrived, and proved 
that the threatened bombardment of the city, in the preceding 



144 HISTORY OF THE 

night, was one of the many falsehoods circulated by the enemy 
to harass the garrison. This morning their post was taken, 
and all the letters they had despatched to Dublin were brought 
into the city. They stated that no less than three thousand of 
the Irish army had died of sickness since the commencement 
of the siege; that the. survivors could get no rest from the fre- 
quent sallies of the besieged, and that they had made places 
under ground to secure themselves from the cannon shot, but 
all in vain. At the same time advices came from other parts, 
that a large army might be daily expected from England to 
raise the siege, in consequence of which, the guns on the 
walls were twice discharged, and the bells chimed in the 
cathedral. 

On this day a ball from a piece of cannon in Captain 
Strong's orchard struck off the arm of one brother and broke 
the arm of another, who had been walking together in Pump 
street. This night the enemy employed themselves in making 
ditches on the hill over the^bog ; they also planted one piece of 
cannon at Strawbridge-town, and another in Tamnemore, over 
the Lough opposite the Wind-mill hill. 

Towards the latter end of May, the Governor of Enniskillen 
hearing that there was a garrison of the Irish army at Red- 
hills, in the county of Cavan, which distressed the Protestant 
parties stationed near them, and that another at Ballynacarrig, 
in the same county, was equally troublesome, he therefore 
sent Colonel Lloyd with fifteen hundred men to reduce them. 
The report of his march flying before him, with great exagge- 
rations of his numbers, the Irish fled in all directions ; and on 
his arrival at Redhills, the garrison there surrendered upon 
quarter. As the house in which they posted themselves be- 
longed to Colonel White, a Protestant gentleman, then in arms 
for King WiHiam, it was left uninjured, and Lloyd proceeded 
with his army to Ballynacarrig, taking his prisoners along 
with him. The castle here was reported to be one of the 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 145 

strongest in that part of Ireland, and had for several days 
baffled Oliver Cromwell's army, surrendering only on the 
general desertion of all the strong holds by the Irish, when the 
whole kingdom was subdued. There was at this time, how- 
ever, but a small garrison in it, with little ammunition, and 
the news of the taking of Red hills struck so great a terror into 
the possessors of it, that in a few hours after the Enniskillen- 
men got there, they held out a flag for a treaty, which ended 
in a capitulation, that they should surrender the castle on con- 
dition of being permitted, with the prisoners taken in the other 
fortress, to go away unstripped, leaving the castle, with all it 
contained, including arms, ammunition, furniture, &c. to the 
plunder of the besieged. Some pikes, about thirty muskets, a 
few cases of pistols, and a little gunpowder were found here. 
As soon as the castle had been rifled of its contents, the soldiers 
undermined the walls, set it on fire, and in a few hours it fell 
to the ground a heap of ruins. This they did, because it was 
a place of great strength, situated in a part of the country 
almost exclusively occupied by the Irish, who would soon have 
repossessed themselves of it if left standing. The news of the 
taking of these places flew to Dublin, gathering importance 
from exaggeration as it proceeded. Fifteen thousand Protest- 
ants were said to be on their march for that city, and the 
rumour, which spread universal consternation, was counte- 
nanced by the advance of Colonel Lloyd and his men to the 
neighbourhood of Kells, in the county of Meath, from which 
place and from Finea, on their return, they brought back to 
Enniskillen above three thousand cows and oxen, two thousand 
sheep, and some horses, without the loss of one man. 

On the last day of May, there was a skirmish at the Wind- 
mill hill, near Londonderry, the cannon on both sides playing 
smartly. About ten o'clock in the morning a considerable 
number of the enemy came running down the fields, and pos- 
sessed themselves of a height beyond the place from which 



146 HISTORY OF THE 

they had forced our men to retreat, on which a party saUied 
out of the city to the Wind-mill, from which, with the guard 
there, they went over to the camp at the top of the hill, where 
there was a warm contest for some time, but the Irish, as 
might be expected, beat off their {assailants, and there was 
much execution on both sides. 

On the first of June one of the small guns at the Wind-mill 
fired eight or ten shots at the enemy, as they were employed 
in making a trench opposite the Gallows; and some of those 
who were at this work being shot, the rest ran away. Many 
great and small guns were discharged on both sides during 
this day, and in the course of the night there were four shells 
thrown into the city. On the next day a cannon-ball struck 
off the arms and legs of two men who were lying in a little 
hut on the Bishop's bowling green. Men were employed all 
this day in making leaden-balls for the cannon of the besieged : 
hogsheads were placed in the double and royal bastions, filled 
with earth and gravel, to secure the breast- work from the bat- 
tering guns of the enemy; one of whose balls, weighing nine- 
teen pounds, struck the cathedral church, but did little damage 
to it. For the greater part of this afternoon the fire of great 
and small shot was incessant, and for the four preceding days 
the enemy made no less than sixteen forts on both sides of the 
river, fixing guns upon such of them as they designed for im- 
mediate use. Within these ten days several of the enemy's 
partisans came to them from Scotland, who advised a closer 
investment of the city than had hitherto been attempted. The 
camps being before this time no nearer than Ballougry and 
Pennyburn, there was liberty for the grazing of cattle round 
the city within the lines, but from this forward they were so 
closely besieged, that they dared not to venture out of the 
island. 

On the third, some ships appeared in the river below Cul- 
more. The Irish discharged thirteen bombs into the city ; the 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 147 

first killed a man and a woman, the second or third killed Mr. 
James Boyd in his own house, and wounded Anne Heath, who 
died shortly afterwards. The others did no other harm than 
tear up the streets, making great holes in the pavement, and 
one of them, when it broke, flew back into the river at the 
Ship-quay. Another fell upon a dunghill in the rear of Mr. 
Cunningham's house, whose wife had presence of mind enough 
to draw the fuse from the touch-hole in time to prevent an ex- 
plosion of its contents. It weighed two hundred and seventy 
pounds, fifteen of which were gunpowder. 

A cannon ball from Tamnemore, on the other side of the 
water, struck Major Graham on the belly, as he was leaning 
over the wall at Ship-quay gate: he died of the wound next 
day. During the night fifteen shells were thrown into the 
city, which killed and wounded several people, and broke 
down many houses. Seven men of Colonel Lance's company 
were killed in Mr. Harper's house in Ship-quay street, and 
many others elsewhere. 

On the fourth of this month the Governor of Enniskillen 
hearing that the Irish army besieging Derry had sent a great 
many of their horses to graze near Omagh, despatched two 
troops of dragoons, under the command of Captains Francis 
Gore and Arnold Crosby, into the parish of Kilskerry, order- 
ing them to keep garrison at Trillick, a house belonging to 
Captain Audley Mervyn, and about half way between Ennis- 
killen and Omagh. They had not staid there above two days, 
when taking with them another troop of horse and two com- 
panies of foot that quartered in the parish of Kilskerry, they 
went in the evening about sunset towards Omagh, and before 
eight o'clock the next mbrning they returned to Trillick with 
about eighty good horses, taken from the enemy, and nearly 
as many moj-e of smaller and inferior horses fit for labour, 
and about three hundred cows. By this enterprise they dis- 
mounted about three troops of the enemy's horse, and would 



148 HISTORY OF THE 

have surprised their fort at Omagh, if notice had not been sent 
to the enemy of their coming, which gave them time to secure 
their position, but not to save their cattle. On the same day 
that this party marched from Enniskillen, the besiegers of Der- 
ry attacked the works at the Wind-mill with horse and foot, 
having divided the former into three squadrons. The first of 
them was commanded by the Hon. Captain Butler, son of 
Lord Mountgarret, and consisted of gentlemen, sworn, as it 
was reported, to top the Derry lines, which they attacked on 
the water-side, and the other two parties were to have followed 
them. The besieged placed themselves within their line in 
three ranks, so advarftageously, that they were able in succes- 
sion to relieve each other, and fire upon the enemy, who ex- 
pected but a single volley to impede their course. Their 
infantry had faggots before them for a defence against the shots 
of their adversaries, and all together, horse and foot, began the 
attack with a loud shout, which was re-echoed from all parts 
of the Irish camp, by the savage howl of the numerous rabble 
that had gathered round it. The faggot men found their twigs 
but a weak defence against the bullets of the Protestants, and 
were routed in a few minutes. It being low water, Captain 
Butler and the ho^emen under his command came to the end 
of the line notwithstanding a heavy fire on them, and stooping 
down over their horses' necks, about thirty of them leaped on 
the works, and overtopped them in the accomplishment of their 
sworn purpose. The Derry-men, surprised that none of these 
horsemen had fallen from the many shots fired at them, were 
at last undeceived by Captain Crook, who observed that they 
were covered with armour, and commanded a fire upon their 
horses, which had such an eftect that but three of these gallant 
gentlemen escaped with great difficulty. Captains John and 
James Gladstanes, Adams, Francis Boyd, R. Wallace, John 
Maghlin, and William Beatty, distinguished themselves highly 
on this occasion. With the infantry under their command. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 149 

they left the redoubts, and attacked Butler and his horsemen 
on the strand, with muskets, pikes, and scythes, kiUing most 
of them, and driving some into the river, to sink or swim in 
their iron armour. During the heat of this action, a body of 
the enemy's grenadiers attacked the forts at the Bogside, where 
Captain Michael Cunningham kept the defenders of them steady 
to their posts till they were beaten back by the enemy. They 
were ably assisted by Lieutenants James Kerr, Josias Aberne- 
thy and Clark, the latter of v/hom was wounded at the same 
moment with Mr. Thomas Maxwell. The fair sex shared the 
glory of the defence of Londonderry on this occasion ; for 
when the men, to whom they had for the whole time intrepidly 
carried ammunition, match, bread and drink, began to fall 
back, they rushed forward in a considerable number, and beat 
back the grenadiers with stones as they attempted to climb up 
the trenches. One brave boy joined them, and altogether they 
stemmed the torrent of war, till a reinforcement rushed from 
the city and repulsed the assailants. After slaughtering sixty 
of them, they chased the rest over the meadows. 

Captain Cunningham narrowly escaped with his life at this 
time ; a cannon ball tore up the ground about him, and he re- 
ceived a musket ball in his back. 

The rout of General Hamilton's infantry at the Wind-mill, 
had by this time been completed. They had been as warmly 
received as their cavalry there, and after a few of them had 
furiously ran in upon their opponents, and were either killed 
or drawn over the works by the hair of their heads, the re- 
mainder wheeled about and fled in a tumultuous manner. 
Colonel Munro acquitted himself with great gallantry at this 
place, as also did Captain Ash, who with the modesty charac- 
teristic of heroism, has not dropped an expression in his Jour- 
nal which could intimate his presence there, except the follow- 
ing ebullition of gratitude to heaven — "Blessed be God," says 

n2 



150 HISTORV OF THE 

lie, " we had a notable victory over them, to their great dis- 
couragement, for they have not attempted a place since." 

The Poem found at Armagh, however, does justice to this 
gallant officer, as well as to many others not mentioned by 
him or Walker, or xMackinzie, and thus affords another oppor- 
tunity and apology for quoting it. 

"THE SECOND BATTLE OF WIND.MILL HILL." 

" To guard the Wind-mill from the watchful foe, 
Strong trenches in a line they quickly throw 
From Columb's wells, upon our western side, 
Down to the lowest point that marks the tide. 
Colonel Munro is station'd near the walls — 
Stout Campbell's post upon his left hand falls. 
Along the trenches many captains stand. 
Each at the head of an intrepid band. 
Beside the glossy margin of the lake, 
Did Col'nel Cairnes his position take, 
When in defence of our devoted town 
He found success and merited renown. 
Soon Col'nel Nugent in front appears, 
Commanding a strong force of grenadiers. 
He makes his onset briskly at the wells, 
As briskly him the stout Munro repels. 
Then reinforc'd, the Irish force return, 
To fight or die impatiently they burn. 
On goes the fray, till near the holy well 
Nugent was wounded, and O'Farrel fell. 
Waucop and Buchan, Scottish Chiefs, then come 
With ten battalions, marching fife and drum ; 
Yet could they not our constant fire sustain, 
While dead men's bodies cover'd all the plain. 
The Irish pressed our trenches on the strand, 
Till noble Ash their efforts did withstand. 
Armstrong came on to aid him in the fight, 
And then they put their boldest foes to flight. 
Away Bob Porter pike and pike-staff threw. 
And with large stones nine Irish soldiers slew; 



«<TRGR OF DERRV. 151 

Another Ajax aiming, sure and slow, 
A skull was fractur'd at his every blow. 
Gladstanes and Baird, a bright example show, 
And Captain Hannah stoutly fought the foe ; 
Their horsemen bravely came with heart and hand, 
Resolv'd that nothing should their arms withstand. 
Fierce was the contest, we their force repel, 
And almost all their gallant party fell. 
Butler, their leader, we a pris'ner take, 
Captain M'Donald, too, we captive make ; 
Whilst valiant Watson, fighting until death, 
Resigned upon the spot his latest breath. 
Cairnes did wonders in this bloody field, 
Where, to his arm, full many a foe did yield. 
Here followed closely valiant Captain Lane, 
By whom the foe in multitudes were slain. 
Their foot bore off their dead upon their back. 
To save their bodies from our fierce attack. 
Then reinforc'd, we chase them o'er the plain. 
Where full two thousand of their men are slain. 
On our side. Maxwell fell upon the spot, 
Knock'd down and shatter'd by a cannon shot. 
While Col'nel Hammel did the foe pursue, 
Through his left cheek a pistol bullet flew. 
The valiant Murray, &c." 
* * ^ * * * 

[Here is a want of eight pages.} 

The account of the carrying off the dead bodies of their 
companions for the purpose of saving their own bones, is cor- 
roborated both by Walker and Mackinzie, the former of whom 
says, "We wondered that the foot did not, according to cus- 
tom, run faster, till we took notice that in their retreat they 
took their dead upon their backs, and so preserved their own 
bodies from the remamder of our shot, which was more ser- 
vice than they did when alive." 

The Irish lost four hundred of their men in this action, and 
the following is a list of their loss in officers : — 



152 HISTORY OF THE 

Lieutenant-Colonel Farrel, two French Captains, Captain Graham, 
Lieutenant Bourke, Adjutant Fahey, Quartermaster Kelly, Ensigns 
Norris and Arthur, killed. The Hon. Captain Butler, with Captains 
M'Donnel, M'Donagh, and Watson ; Lieutenants Eustace, a French 
Lieutenant, and Serjeant Pigot, prisoners. 

The Derry-men lost but five or six private men. Captain 
Maxwell, who behaved himself with great courage on this oc- 
casion, had his arm broken by a cannon ball, of which he died 
in three days afterwards; and Thomas Gow had all the flesh 
shot from the calf of his leg by another, but the bone not being 
broken, he recovered. Mackinzie mentions three of their Co- 
lonels, Murray, Monro, and Hammel, who were engaged on 
that day, and he says, in corroboration of the account in the 
Armagh Poem, that the latter was hurt on the check with a 
small bullet, a circumstance not noticed either by Walker or 
Ash. The Irish lost four pair of colours in this action, and 
almost all their arms, which incensed them so much, that they 
threw six-and-thirty shells into the town, by which many lost 
their lives. One of these fell on the house of Captain Cairncs, 
and made its way down to the cellar, where some of the sick 
men of Captain Ash's company lay; it killed two of them, and 
wounded many others. — Some of Major Campsie's and Mr. 
Sherrard's men were killed by these shells. One of them fell 
on the Diamond-house, went through it, and fell within six [cet 
of forty-seven barrels of gunpowder which had been buried in 
a dry well. 

On the next day, being Friday, the fifth of June, twenty-six 
bombs played against the city, by which many were killed 
and wounded. They broke down houses, raised stones, and 
made great holes in the streets. On the same day Mr. Ed- 
ward Stones, in the time of parley, went with leave from the 
Irish to a little well beyond the Bog, when a French officer 
treacherously came behind him, snatched his sword out of the 
scabbard, and wounded him, but not mortally, in the side. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 153 

The enemy now increased their shells to a great size; some 
of them were said to weigh two hundred and seventy-three 
pounds, but their fuses not being prepared in an effectual man- 
ner, a great portion of them fell without bursting, and did no 
damage. Such of them as did burst were very destructive, 
and the terror of them made the inhabitants leave their houses 
at night and lie ab'out the walls, where they contracted dis- 
eases which added to the prevailing mortality. Major Breme 
and Surgeon Lindsay were killed on the night of this day, as 
also Mr. Henry Thompson, a public-spirited burgess of the 
city. The loss of Mr. Lindsay at this time was much felt, for 
he had been very useful to the sick and wounded soldiers. 
The bombs supplied only one convenience to counterbalance 
all the mischief they did; fuel was now grov»'ing scarce, and 
they saved the trouble of ascertaining which of the houses 
should be pulled down first to supply it. One of the shells 
fell into the house of Captain James Boyd, broke down the 
side of it, and killed himself. Several officers who were then 
at dinner in the house escaped the danger, though the shell 
fell near the room in which they were sitting. Another killed 
seven, and another three of the men of the garrison. 

On the next morning the bombs began again, and out of 
two mortars thirty shells were discharged, some large and 
some small, which did great mischief. One of these fell on 
Major Campsie's house, sunk into the cellar, and struck the 
heads out of two wine hogsheads, but fortunately did not touch 
a large quantity of gunpowder which lay near them. Another 
fell on Captain Cairnes's house, breaking all the furniture and 
glass in it. Another fell on Captain Abram's house, and 
smeared it all over with some syrup which had been stored 
there; it also broke the Captain's under jaw. Three of them 
fell on the market-house, which greatly defaced it, and spoiled 
the clock. 

On the seventh eleven bombs were shot into the city, with 



154 HISTORY OF THE 

little or no damage to it; and in the mean time the spirits of 
the garrison were raised by the view of three small ships, the 
Greyhound frigate with two small ketches, coming up the 
river towards Culmore. A boat was launched for the purpose 
of meeting them, but could not be moved from the shore*, be- 
cause the places for the oars had been made so near to each 
other, that the men had not room to row. • The ships fired on 
the castle at Culmore as soon as they approached within shot 
of it, but one of them running aground, on being left by the 
tide, was much endangered by the enemy's cannon. The 
Irish called to the Derry-men, in derision, to send down car- 
penters to mend her; but she soon righted, and, with others, 
got out of the range of the fire from the fort. In the Life of 
James the Second, it is observed, that this vessel would have 
been battered to pieces, but that the gunners at Culmore were 
none of the best. 

The bombs recommenced their work of destruction next 
day, no less than five-and-thirty of them being discharged into 
the city, killing some people and wounding many more, by 
shattering their legs and arms to pieces. One of them fell 
upon Mr. Moore's house, and drove a stone out of it, which 
killed a man at the Ship-quay bastion, below the magazine. 

On Sunday, the ninth, there was a pause in the firing on 
the city; the besiegers for this day intermitted their cannon- 
ade, not in honour of the Sabbath, which they had never, be- 
fore this time, observed as a day of rest from their fruitless la- 
bours at Londonderry, but because it happened to be the patron 
day of St. Columbkill!!! 

On the tenth the Governor of Enniskillen, having heard of 
the dreadful state of the Protestants in Londonderry, who, it 
was generally thought, would be obliged to surrender if not 
relieved in a very few days, marched with two thousand of his 
men on his way towards that city, and came that night to Tril- 
lick. The next morning he proceeded towards Omagh, and 



SIEGE OF DERBY. 155 

on the way received a false information of that place having 
been abandoned by its garrison. Deceived by this news, 
some of those who travelled with the Enniskilleners, but were 
not under any command, went on before the main body, in 
hope of getting the plunder of the town before the soldiers got 
into it. Such was their incautious haste, that they went near 
a mile before the forlorn hope, and the consequence was, that 
when they got within three miles of Omagh, they were sur- 
prised by a party of the Irish that lay in ambuscade in a val- 
ley, and came upon them unawares. They h.\\, howBver, ef- 
fected their escape, with the exception of Mr. Rowland Betty, 
a man in good esteem among all who knew him. After dis- 
charging his pistol at the enemy, he was in the act of wheel- 
ing round and retreating, when his horse fell with him to the 
ground, and before he could recover the saddle again, they 
came forward to him, took him prisoner, and after bringing 
him a great way nearer to Omagh, cruelly murdered him. In 
this way, indeed, did they usually deal with all the prisoners 
who surrendered to them on promise of quarter. In the mean 
time the Governor of Enniskillen, with his party, marched 
within a mile and a half of Omagh. 

On the next day he possessed himself of the whole town 
except the fort, which he invested ; his men being good marks- 
men, as the Protestants generally were, placed themselves in 
the houses about it, and fired with such precision upon the be- 
sieged that not a man of them came in view, after one of them 
had been killed and others wounded. In a few hours, how- 
ever, an express arrived from Enniskillen, followed by several 
other hasty communications, informing the Governor and offi- 
cers with him, that Colonel Sarsfield, with five or six thousand 
men, had advanced to Ballyshannon and laid siege to it, and 
that at the same time Colonel Sutherland had appeared with 
another army before Belturbet. Each of these places being in 
different .directions, twenty miles distant from Enniskillen, the 



166 HISTORY OF THE 

danger of an attack from these armies appeared imminent, and 
a consultation was held, when it was resolved that it was their 
more immediate duty to return to the protection of their town, 
than to proceed, according to their previous purpose, to the re- 
lief of another. Some of the officers would have the town of 
Omagh burned, it being a great shelter and convenience to the 
Irish army on their marches through the country ; but as it 
belonged to Captain Mervyn, a steady Protestant, it was saved 
for his sake; and on the next day the whole party returned 
to Enniskillen. 

On the eleventh, two of the enemy's mortars threw no less 
than twenty-eight shells into the city of Londonderry. 

" The Irish bombs cast many a fatal ball, 
Which bursting, fly amongst us as they fall ; 
Terror around in each direction spread, 
Knock down the living and disturb the dead, 
By these dread harbingers of sudden death, 
The tender matron yields her struggling breath. 
The hero lifeless on the pavement lies, 
And the pale infant in his cradle dies." 

At six o'clock in the evening of this day, a fleet appeared 
in Lough Foyle, which came up to the Three Trees about an 
hour before midnight. A flattering communication was made 
to the besieged this evening by one Dobin, who came from the 
enemy's camp, and told them that the Irish army, terrified at 
the approach of the English fleet with troops on board, had 
resolved to decamp the next night. This information, how- 
ever, soon proved to have been premature. The mortality in 
the city, from various causes, became at this time very great, 
and from the commencement of the siege to this time thirty 
persons, on an average, were buried in it every day. The 
mortality in the Irish camp, as afterwards appeared, was 
scarcely less in proportion to the number of people which it 
contained, for the season was unusually cold and wet, and a 
dry bed for the sick or wounded was a luxury enjoye^l by few= 



SIEGE OF DERBY. 157 

On the fourteenth, the shells continued to fall in the city, 
but without doing any great mischief. 

The Enniskilleners received intelligence on the fifteenth of 
this month, that Colonel Sutherland's force at Belturbet was 
daily increasing, as the Irish were flocking to him from all 
parts of the country, and that it was his intention to advance 
in a short time into the county of Fermanagh. Resolved to 
anticipate their attack, the Governor of Enniskillen ordered 
Colonel Lloyd to take the field v/ith the greatest strength of 
foot and horse which he could collect, and to march against 
Sutherland. In two days afterwards, Lloyd, with his Httle 
army, which Irish rumours had again swelled to the imagina- 
ry number of fifteen thousand, came to Maguire's bridge, half 
way between Enniskillen and Belturbet, from which a spy 
fled on his approach, and informed Sutherland that all the 
forces of the Enniskilleners were in full march to attack him. 
This officer had with him at Belturbet only two regiments of 
foot, a regiment of dragoons, and a few troops of horse. He 
had brought with him from Dublin spare arms for two regi- 
ments of new raised men, that were every day coming to him, 
and he had provided some pieces of cannon and a great store 
of biscuit, wheat, flour, malt, and other provisions for his army, 
intending to besiege Enniskillen. When the news of the ap- 
proach of Lloyd was conveyed to him, he gave credit to the 
exaggerated account of his opponents, and no longer consider- 
ed it safe to remain in Belturbet. There was no place of 
strength there, but the church and grave yard about it, the 
latter of which was but weakly fortified, and not large enough 
to contain the men he had with him. He therefore retreated 
towards Monaghan, intending, if pursued, to get under the 
shelter of the fort at Charlemont, and left a detachment of 
eighty dragoons, with about two hundred foot, under the com- 
mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Scott, and some other 
officers, to defend themselves against the Enniskilleners in 

o 



158 HISTORY OF THE 

Belturbet. The next day happening to be remarkably wet, 
Lloyd's armj^ could not march from their quarters, and so the 
retreat of Sutherland was effected without a pursuit, but on the 
succeeding day, which proved fair, the Enniskilleners appear- 
ed before Belturbet. Colonel Lloyd advancing at the head of 
his men against the town, ordered Captain Robert Vaughan 
and Captain Hugh Galbraith, with their two troops of dra- 
goons, on the forlorn hope. Within two miles of that town 
they were fired upon by a troop of dragoons, upon which they 
alighted from their horses and lined the ditches upon both sides 
of the road, which unusual manoeuvre, together with the ap- 
peaTance of the main body of their army coming up at the 
moment, caused the Irish dragoons to retreat to Belturbet, 
where, with the rest of their party, they took post in and about 
the church, and in the Archbishop of Dublin's house adjoin- 
ing to it, and commanding them so from a range of windows 
in an upper story, that it appeared to be almost impossible for 
the assailants to stand within the range of their fire. But after 
two hours' skirmishing, in which they proved themselves but 
indifferent marksmen, and lost some of their numbers, they 
held out a white flag for a treaty, and surrendered upon con- 
ditions, that their lives should be spared, but that the common 
soldiers should be stripped of their red coats, which was ac- 
cordingly done. The officers were not included in this inge- 
nious stipulation, and had all their money, under ten pounds 
each, left with them. The prisoners amounted in number to 
three hundred, including Colonel Scott and thirteen other offi- 
cers. Two hundred of the meanest of these prisoners were 
discharged next morning, the victors being unwilling to take 
the trouble of maintaining them, and the rest, with their offi- 
cers, were brought to Enniskillen, together with about seven 
hundred muskets, a barrel and an half of gunpowder, eighty 
dragoon horses, with all the accoutrements belonging to them, 
about twenty horse-loads of biscuit, above fiftv barrels of flour, 



SIEGE OF 13ERRY. 159 

one hundred barrels of wheat, some malt and other provisions, 
and as many red coats as served two companies of men, who 
were in great want of such clothing. All this valuable plun- 
der, except the horses, was conveyed by boats over Lough 
Erne to Enniskillen, where it was very acceptable, particular- 
ly the gunpowder, which was as much as the garrison had at 
that time remaining in their stores. This dispersion of an 
hostile force, with the seasonable supply of necessaries, was 
achieved without the loss of a man ! ! ! / The biscuit and flour 
yielded the garrison a supply of food which lasted till their 
harvest afforded them a new supply, and the arms were almost 
as necessary to the new raised companies, as the clothing had 
been. 

Matters, however, wore a different aspect in Londonderry 
at this time, where a want of provisions began to be severely 
felt; it was in vain that the precaution had been taken of salt- 
ing and barrelling the flesh of the horses killed in the second 
engagement at the Wind-mill hill, and that the garrison had 
for a considerable time before been put upon a short allowance 
of provisions; famine now stared them in the face," and many 
of them began to die of hunger. They were now reduced to 
such straits, that where they could find a horse grazing near 
the Wind-mill, they would kill and eat him ; and when they 
saw the fleet this day (the thirteenth) remain below Culmore 
without an attempt to con^ up, it cast a cold damp on their 
too confident hopes, and sunk them as low as they had been 
raised by the first sight of it. This fleet was under the com- 
mand of Major-General Kirk, a man not likely to go much 
out of his way, for the purpose of diminishing the sum of hu- 
man misery. It consisted of thirty sail, with a reinforcement 
of five thousand men, and a supply of provisions. The be- 
sieged made the usual demonstrations of joy on the appearance 
of relief, but they were not returned. The works erected on 
each side of the river deterred Kirk from endeavouring to bring 



160 HISTORY OF THE 

the fleet to its destination. Signals of distress were in vain made 
from the steeple. Kirk, on seeingthe enemy draw their cannon 
to the water side, sailed out of the mouth of the harbour, and 
left the men of Derry in despair. The consternation of the be- 
sieging army on the appearance of this fleet, formed a strong 
contrast with the feelings which prevailed among the besieged. 
The Irish were observed, on the first appearance of the fleet, 
to be in great agitation, pulling down their tents, changing 
their red coats for other clothing, and many of them actually 
running away ; but their terror subsided when they vsaw Kirk, 
disregarding the advantage of wind and tide, sail out of the 
river and withdraw the terrific vision from their sight. The 
boom, which was afterwards thrown across the river, had not 
at this time been completed, and had this unfeeling man re- 
mained even v/here he was for the night, the enemy's camp 
would, in all probabilit3^ have been deserted before morning, 
and six weeks of intense suffering might have been saved the 
defenders of the city. 

He did not, however, abandon his purpose; he turned round 
with his fleet into Lough Swilly, and fortified the island of 
Inch, which was well situated for holding a correspondence 
both with Derry and Enniskillen. Immediately after the dis- 
appearance of Kirk's fleet, the Irish began to make a boom 
across the river from Charles fort to Brook-hall, which was 
directly opposite to it. The first boom was made of oaken 
beams, bound together with iron chains and strong cables 
twisted about them. They were employed for an entire week 
in drawing timber and other mjJterials, but when they thought 
they had their work completed, it was found as useless as 
Robinson Crusoe's dry-land boat, for although near enough the 
water to be launched, it would not float, and was soon broken 
by the spring tides. After this they made another of lighter 
material, which appeared to answer their purpose much better, 
till it was tried by the Mountjoy of D*erry. It was fastened at 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 161 

one end through the arch of a bridge, at the other by a huge 
piece of timber, the larger end of which was sunk in the 
ground, and fortified by heavy stone work. The account of 
this boom, brought into the city by prisoners, with the usual 
exaggerations, created great alarm and uneasiness there ; hope 
was rapidly disappearing, while abortive efforts were inces- 
santly made by signals from the steeple to the ships, and back 
from them again, to communicate or acquire intelligence of 
what was to be expected at this trying crisis. 

On Sunday, the sixteenth, the bells of the cathedral rung a 
peal of joy on the discovery of twenty sail of ships in the di- 
rection of Coleraine. Three rounds of cannon were fired 
from the walls, and answered from the vessels at sea. At the 
same time Governor Walker, very prudently proposed to the 
garrison to accept a ransom of five hundred pounds for the 
wounded and worthless body of Colonel Talbot, commonly 
called wicked Will Talbot. A council was held to decide on 
this offer, in the bed-chamber of Governor Baker, who had 
taken his last sickness at this time, but the garrison had such 
a rooted hatred to Tyrconnel, that they used most violent 
threats against any one who should attempt to liberate his re- 
lative on any terms, and burned the bier which had been sent 
for the dying man. Baker's utmost efforts were scarcely able 
to restrain their fury on this occasion, and they treated Walker 
not only with disrespect, but menaces. They afterwards 
made no opposition to an offer made by the Governors to re- 
lease this prisoner on condition that the enemy would permit a 
man to go to the ships with a message from them, and be al- 
lowed to return to the city; but this, which might probably 
have been accomplished for one-half of the sum which had 
been offered as a ransom for Talbot, was refused. Talbot's 
death, in a short time, proved that Walker's advice ought to 
have been taken. 

On the morning after the refusal of the ransom for this pri- 
0-2 



162 HISTORY OF THE 

soner, the rabble of the garrison, whose indiscretion seemed to 
increase as their dangers multiplied, assumed the government 
of the city, in a freak, put Lord Netterville, Sir Garret Ayl- 
mer, Mr. Newcomen, John Buchanan, Bryan M'Laughlin, and 
all the prisoners except Talbot, into Newgate. They then 
went about the city, taking meal, and whatever they could get, 
without respect to persons or property. 

" lliacos peecatur muros infer et extra.^^ 

In the evening of the same day this capricious mob released 
Sir Garret Aylmer and Mr. Newcomen, and the others on the 
next day. 

About this time fever, dysentery, and other diseases, became 
very general, and a great mortality existed among the garrison 
and inhabitants of the city; in one day no less than fifteen 
commissioned officers died. 

Famine now approaching, Alexander Watson, captain of 
the gunners, who, for the most part, had houses in the city, 
was ordered with his men to make a diligent search for pro- 
visions, which they did with good effect; for, digging up cel- 
lars and other places, they found a very considerable quantity 
of meal and other articles of food which had been buried by 
persons who had died or left the city. Many also, who had 
secret stores, came voluntarily with their stock of provisions 
to the public receptacle for them, by which means the garrison 
was furnished with bread nearly to the end of the siege, though 
the allowance was little. On the fifteenth of this month the 
allowance to each company, consisting of sixty men, was half 
a barrel of barley and sixty pounds of meal. 

The besieged now sent many a longing look towards the 
ships, and building an eight-oared boat, sent it out well manned 
to attempt a passage down the harbour, with an account of 
'their miserable state. The adventurers went off with the 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 168 

prayers and blessings of the anxious multitude, but finding it 
impossible to proceed on their destination through the shower 
of balls fired at them from each side of the water, they re- 
turned to their disappointed friends. 

The iron bullets hitherto used by the defenders of the city 
being now almost spent, the want of them was first supplied 
by leaden bullets, in the heart of each of which were pieces 
of burned brick, and in a little time several balls Vv^ere made 
of rounded stones. 

On the eighteenth of June, James being in severe want of 
money, began to issue vast quantities of coin, made current 
by a proclamation at a rate utterly disproportioned to its in- 
trinsic value. The metal of which it was made was the very 
worst kind of brass; old guns, and the refuse of the basest 
metals, were melted down to make it. — The braziers' shops 
were first ransacked, and then the kitchens of the metropolis 
were pillaged of their brass pots, skillets, and boilers. — All the 
brass that could be collected in the houses was brought to the 
mint, and scarcely a single rapper was left upon a hall-door in 
Dublin. The workmen rated this metal at three or four pence 
a pound, and when it was coined, three or four pence were 
metamorphosed into three pounds. In this way all the go- 
vernment payments were made, and the Protestants were com- 
pelled to take it ia exchange for their goods, while they were 
obliged to make all their payments in gold or silver, by which 
they were defrauded of about sixty thousand pounds a month 
from this time to the victory at the Boyne. None of the brass 
money, however, was imposed upon the men of Londonderry 
or Enniskillen ; the metal they received from their enemies, 
they repaid with interest in the same coin. 

On the eighteenth day of this month the Mareschal General 
Conrad de Rosen arrived at the Irish camp, with a reinforce- 
ment of fifteen hundred men. He expressed his utter contempt 
for the city as soon as he looked at it, declared that he could 



164 HISTORY OP THE 

make his men bring it to him stone by stone, and impiously 
swore by the belly of God, that he would demolish it and bury 
its defenders in the ruins. But this vapouring had as little 
weight here as this vain Frenchman's promises, of which he 
was remarkably profuse, and the first order issued after this 
accession of strength to the enemy, was that no man, on pain 

OF DEATH, SHOULD SPEAK OF SURRENDERING THE CITY. 

Governor Baker grew so very ill at this time that he found 
it necessary to depute Colonel Mitchelburn to be joint Gover- 
nor with the Rev. George Walker, during his sickness, that 
when one commanded in sallies, the other might take care of 
the city, and if one should fall the place might not be kept 
without a Governor, and put to the hazard of being divided by 
an election. During the evening of the eighteenth the mob 
of the city pulled down the remainder of the market-house, 
carrying off the timber for fuel, which had become scarce at 
this time, and during the night Colonel Murray, with Captains 
Noble, Dunbar, and Holmes, with two Lieutenants, one Wrake, 
and Alexander Poke, a gunner, went up the river in the new 
boat, on pretence of plundering the fish-houses on the island, 
but with the real design to land two messengers in a wood four 
miles from the city, to go to Enniskillen with an account of 
their distressed situation. When they had got some little dis- 
tance towards their destination, the enemy fired on them from 
both sides of the shore, and when arrived at Donnelong wood, 
where they intended to land the messengers, the boys were so 
terrified that they would not venture ashore, and the design 
was frustrated. — The morning in the mean time began to 
dawn, when Murray and his party discovered two large boats 
behind them, manned with dragoons, advancing to cut off their 
retreat. A sharp conflict ensued, and after the ammunition on 
both sides was spent, one of the boats attempting to board the 
Derry-men, " caught a tartar," as Mackinzie expresses it, for 
those whom they would have thus overpowered, rushed into 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 165 

their assailants' vessel, beat some of the crew into the water, 
killed three or four others, with two of their Lieutenants, upon 
which the remainder ihre'w down their arms and begged for 
quarter. Thirteen prisoners were taken in this boat. The 
enemy in the other, seeing the fate of their companions, re- 
treated with all the haste they could, while the victors carried 
their prisoners and some small plunder to the city. The ene- 
my fired upon them from both sides of the river as they passed 
down, and yet such was the inaccuracy with which they and 
the dragoons in the boats levelled their pieces, that no other 
injur}^ was done than the infliction of a slight contusion on 
Colonel Murray's head, and the wounding of one man. En- 
couraged by this success, the party in the Derry boat, after 
landing their prisoners near the city, and delivering them to 
the guards, returned to attack a detachment of the Irish in 
Tamneymore, who were at this time drawing off one of their 
cannon, but they fled on the approach of the boat, leaving the 
gun behind them, and were followed nearly to the top of the 
hill, when the pursuers, perceiving a strong party advancing to 
intercept them, turned back, and with difficulty got into their 
boat. Captain Ash's date of this transaction differs from that 
assigned to it both by Walker and Mackinzie. This day a 
regiment of the Irish horse came from Muff, and drew up in a 
bodj/^ near Rossdoney. Three pieces of cannon were fired at 
them from the bulwark above Ferry-gate, which were supposed 
to have done some execution, and caused them to retreat by 
the same road which they came. 

Desertions from the city now became so frequent that the 
enemy received constant intelligence of what was passing in 
it, which gave great trouble to the Governors, as they were 
obliged, under such circumstances, to make frequent removal 
of their ammunition, and use other inconvenient expedients to 
render this kind of information uncertain. As a counterba- 
lance to some of the many prevalent distresses at this period 



166 HISTORY OF THE 

of the siege, the gunners had now, by experience, become so 
precise in levelling the guns upon the walls, that scarcely a 
single shot was fired without doing execution. 

Immediately after the arrival of Rosen, he caused some bat- 
teries to be thrown up by night, and raised a line on the other 
side of the bog opposite the Wind-mill hill, preparatory to his 
laying and springing a mine, and he removed the besieging 
camp and trenches nearer to the town than they had been, for 
the purpose of cutting off the works and interrupting the relief 
of guards. He also ran a line through the orchard opposite to 
Butcher's-gate and within a few perches of it; ordering the 
mortar pieces to be taken from the orchard on the other side 
of the river, and to be placed on the hill above the bog on the 
western side of the city. He also planted the battering guns, 
which threw balls of about twenty pounds each, at a conve- 
nient distance before the same gate. They plied the besieged 
closely with their bombs and battering pieces from this time 
to the twenty-first of July, when they entirely ceased, firing 
them at uncertain hours, some in the day time and some at 
night. 

The Governors, availing themselves of the skill and industry 
of Captain Schomberg, son of the renowned veteran Mareschal 
of that name, and regularly trained in the art of war, and 
being moreover instructed by the manoeuvres of the enemy, 
which they closely watched, countermined the besiegers before 
Butcher's-gate, and contrived a blind to protect their engineers 
from the opposite battery, whose fire was returned with such 
vigour and precision from the walls, that few days passed 
without the loss of some choice and most forward men in the 
Irish army. 

On the night of the twentieth, some of the enemy came upon 
the guards o« the outposts at the gallows, and wounded one of 
Ihem, obliging the rest to retreat to the Wind-mill, which 
•alarmed the city, and a strong force went out, expecting an 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 167 

assault. They waited there all night on the alert, but no 
attack was made upon them. 

Twenty bomb shells were thrown into the city on the 
twenty-first of June; two of them fell upon the church, one of 
them passed over without injuring it, the other raised some 
sheets of lead, but it did not pass through, and some fragments 
of it were found by Mr. William Stewart, when taking off the 
materials of the old roof in the autumn of 1822. The rest 
did little damage except killing one man and wounding an- 
other. Two of the Derry-men were killed this day near the 
lane next to the meadows, from the new trench made by the 
enemy opposite the Wind-mill, and about this time many were 
killed in attempting to bring water from St. Columb's well. 
A council was held this day at the Bishop's palace, where 
Governor Baker lay extremely ill, in which Mitchelburn was 
confirmed by his worthy predecessor, the governor of the city, 
unless he should recover from his illness, which was still ex- 
pected. Captain Ash mentions this circumstance as a proof 
that no malice burned in Baker's mind against Mitchelburn, 
although there had been a dispute between them of such a na- 
ture that they drew their swords upon each other. 

On the twenty-third the remains of Colonel Talbot, who 
died two days before, were interred, and his wife, who had 
offered the ransom for him, was after some deliberation, where 
there ought to have been none, permitted to go from the gar- 
rison. She went out in the evening attended by some officers. 
One of the captains, named Stringer, deserted to the enemy 
this day, and also one of the drummers. The engineers of the 
Irish army prosecuted their works in the orchard this night, 
the besieged still firing at them from the wall ; on the next day 
the trench through the orchard was finished, and six bombs 
were thrown into the city, of which only three exploded. 

The garrison had now used all their endeavours to get in- 
telligence from the ships, but in vain. The signs from the 



168 HISTOKVr OF THE 

steeple, both by flags and cannon shot, failed to elicit any in- 
formation that Kirk was acquainted with the distressed situa- 
tion of the city.. Roche, afterwards a captain in King Wil- 
liam's army, arrived with a letter from the English General, 
assuring them, in the kindest manner, that every thing in 
Scotland, England and Ireland was prosperous, and that suc- 
cours beyond their wishes were speedily to join them; he 
added, however, a chilling caution to husband their provisions, 
an admonition, says Dalrymple, more alarming to them than 
all the menaces of their enemies. A Scotchman, named James 
Cromie, had accompanied Roche from the fleet to the spot on 
the river side, where he hid his clothes and took the water, 
but being unable to swim, waited for a day or two concealed 
in bushes near that place, expecting a boat which his adven- 
turous companion had promised to send for him in the course 
of the night. The Irish guards, however, discovered him, 
and by way of counterplot, obliged him, on pain of death, to 
swear that he would give the besieged a discouraging account. 
They then hung out a signal for a parley, which being granted, 
and some men being sent over to speak with him, he repeated 
the account which he had sworn to give ; yet when Colonel 
Blair asked him why his account differed from that of Roche, 
he replied, that he was in the enemy's camp, and the other 
messenger within the walls of Derry. Kirk's letter, which 
was directed to Walker, had been written on the preceding 
Sunday, and, in addition to the particulars above mentioned, it 
stated that officers, ammunition, and arms, had been sent from 
the fleet to the Enniskilleners, who, for their encouragement, it 
reported to have had a force of three thousand infantry and 
fifteen hundred horse, with a regiment of dragoons, all of which 
had promised to come to the relief of Derry. The writer said 
that he would, at the same time, make a diversion, by attack- 
ing the enemy with a force detached from the island of Inch, 
and that he was in momentary expectation of a reinforcement 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 169 

of three thousand men from England, as they had been shipped 
there eight days before. He added, that from several of the 
enemy who had deserted to him, he had assurances that the 
besieging army could not stand long, and that he had heard 
from Enniskillen of the defeat of the Duke of Berwick. 
Charged with this letter, and accompanied by Cromie, Roche 
passed through the enemy's out-posts, camp, and guard, a dis- 
tance of about eight miles, whence, as already mentioned, he 
proceeded alone and swam into the city. He was not so for- 
tunate in his return to the fleet ; after resting but one day in 
Derry, he swam to the spot where he had left his clothes, a 
distance of three miles, and found they had been taken away. 
The Governors' letters were tied in a bladder to protect them 
from the water, and concealed in his hair. He ran in a state 
of nakedness for three miles, pursued by the enemy, and 
escaped from them only by taking shelter in a thick wood 
where horsemen could not follow him, but where his sufferings 
were intense from the laceration of his body by briars and 
thorns. Covered from head to foot with blood, he passed 
round through the woods to the water side, where he unfor- 
tunately met with a party of the Irish dragoons, one of whom 
broke his jaw bone with a halbert, after which he plunged into 
the river, and though he was fired at several times, and 
wounded in the arm, breast, and shoulder, he chose, as he 
afterwards stated in his petition to the English House of Com- 
monS, to die in the water rather than betray the trust reposed 
in him. When force was found ineffectual to stop this intrepid 
messenger, his pursuers offered him a thousand pounds if he 
would deliver up the letters he carried, but this he refused to 
do, and not finding it practicable to proceed to the fleet, swam 
back to Derry, and by preconcerted signals, gave notice to 
General Kirk that he had delivered his letter, with an intima- 
tion of the length of time which the city might be expected to 
hold out. These signals were the taking down of the flag for 

r 



170 HISTORY OF THE 

a short time, and the firing of a certain number of guns from 
the steeple of the cathedral. Kirk had ineffectually ofTered 
three thousand guineas to any man who would undertake to 
deliver this letter, till Roche, at last, took charge -of it. 
Walker's letter to Kirk, which had been thus prevented from 
going by the intended mode of conveyance, reached him how- 
ever, and copies of it have been given in Nairna's collection 
of state papers. It mentioned the capitulation offered by 
General Hamilton, and the probability that the city would be 
compelled to accept of it, if not relieved before six days. He 
also represented the distress of the garrison, and the facility 
of sending them provisions. A letter of the same date, signed 
by three of the citizens, was enclosed in Walker's. They 
informed the General that they had fed for some time upon 
horse flesh, which now began to fail them. They complained 
of sickness, mortality and desertion, and prayed to be relieved 
by a supply of provisions, and to have a Governor appointed 
if the siege should not be raised. A third letter, of the same 
date, and signed by Walker, Baker, and five of the citizens, 
mentioned the effect which the appearance of the fleet in Lough 
Foyle, and the delay of landing, after that time, had produced 
upon the enemy. It stated their fears of being undermined, 
their want of food for eight days, even of horse flesh, upon 
which they had subsisted for a considerable time before, and 
in the name of themselves and twenty thousand distressed 
Protestants, shut up in the city, on account of their loyalty 
and perseverance, prayed to be supplied with provisions; 
especially biscuit, cheese, and butter, as they had no fuel to 
dress their meat. They recapitulated their almost incredible 
victories over the enemy, and the names of the many officers 
of note they had kiUed or taken prisoners, concluding in these 
words: — "If you do not send us relief we must surrender the 
garrison within six or seven days. We understand that the 
boom is certainly broken, so that you may come up with 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 171 

ease." Kirk, in the mean time, heard their cries, and saw 
their signals of distress, without making the shghtest effort to 
relieve them. 

On the same day that the letter of the Governor and citi- 
zens of Derry had been written to the fleet, Colonel Gordon 
O'Neill, who had been an inhabitant of the city for some years 
before it was besieged, desired a conference with some of the 
oflicers of the garrison, and Colonel Lance and Lieutenant- 
Colonel Campbell went out to him. They met on the strand 
near the gallows, and there O'Neill informed them that King 
James had sent instructions to Marshal Rosen, that if the city 
would surrender, all those who chose to go to their respective 
dwellings should have liberty to do so, and that any losses 
they should sustain would be made up to them by reprisals; 
those who would enter his army should be treated there with- 
out distinction of religion, and those who wished to go to Eng- 
land or Scotland should have liberty to depart. To these pro- 
posals he required an answer on the ensuing day ; and in the 
mean time the enemy continued to be busily employed in 
making their trenches, and coming still closer to the ci-ty. 
The countermining went on with equal perseverance on the 
part of the garrison, encouraged by the indefatigable pains 
and expenditure of Captain Michael Cunningham and Mr. 
William Macky, who not only paid the soldiers out of their 
own pockets for the work, but what was at this time a much 
greater sacrifice to the general safety of the city, gave many 
of them food at their own houses. There was also a collec- 
tion made by way of free-will offering among the inhabitants 
to carry on this work, by which the enemy was kept from 
getting to the near side of the bog, without which they could 
draw no mines. At this time one M'Gimpsey called upon 
Colonel Murray, and volunteered to swim down the Lough 
with intelligence to General Kirk. Murray, after consulting 
the Deputy-Governor, Mitchelburn, who seemed inclined to 



172 HISTOKY or THE 

delay tlie messenger, promised him a reward, and despatched 
him with a letter signed by himself. Colonel Cairnes, and Cap- 
tain Gladstanes, representing the great extremity to which 
they had been reduced, and most earnestly imploring a speedy 
relief. This letter was closely tied in a little bladder, in 
which two musket-balls were placed with it, that if the enemy 
should take the messenger, he might break the string and let 
it fall into the water. Whether this unfortunate man was 
taken alive by the enemy, or was killed, as was reported, by 
being carried forcibly with the stream and tide against the 
boom, was not ascertained at the time, but the latter is more 
probable, on account of the letter reaching Mareschal de Rosen, 
who, in his despatch to James, of the twenty-seventh of this 
month, gives the following account of the transaction, and the 
contents of Mitchelburn's letter: — "We have fished this morn- 
ing a drowned man, who floated on the river with bladders 
about his arms. When he was taken up we discovered that 
he had come out of Derry to swim to the fleet. We found in 
another bladder, fastened to his neck, the three letters en- 
closed, by which your Majesty may see in what state the town 
is now, and of what consequence it is to hinder the enemy 
from supplying it. I presume, under these circumstances, to 
take the liberty of representing to your Majesty that you would 
have been master of the town long ago, if my advice had been 
followed, which was, not to grant protections, nor receive any 
person coming from the town, by which means they would the 
sooner consume their provisions, and be obliged to surrender 
themselves with the halter about their necks." 

On the same day that this letter was written. Colonels Lance 
and Campbell made such a reply to Gordon O'Neill, as ap- 
pears to have exasperated the French General, for ten shells 
were, on that night, thrown into the city. One of them fell 
upon Joseph Gallagher's house in Bishop street, where two 
barrels of gunpowder were lodged. It killed no less than 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 173 

fourteen persons, viz. six grenadiers belonging to the regi- 
naent in which Captain Ash served, four horsemen, and four 
women. 

On the twenty-eighth the Irish army hung up the body of a 
man on a gallows, within view of the city, on the other side of 
the water, and called over to acquaint the garrison that it was 
the messenger whom they had sent tov/ards the fleet. Colo- 
nels Fortescue and Blair went to the orchard where the camp 
lay to confer with Lord Louth, who, contrary to the position 
assigned to him in Neville's map of the city, as besieged at 
this time, commanded the troops on the Prehen side of the 
river, in conjunction with Sir Neil O'Neill, whose regiment of 
dragoons had quarters there. Their errand was to treat with 
these officers concerning Mr. James Cromie, who had, as al- 
ready noticed, come there with Roche from the ships. Lord 
Louth and Sir Neil would not let him go, nor exchange him 
for any other prisoner, so he remained in the Irish camp. On 
this day and night twenty shells were thrown into the city. 
They killed one man, two women, and a child, and did severe 
execution upon the family of Alexander Poke, the undaunted 
gunner of Colonel Murray's boat in the action of the preceding 
Tuesday week; one of these fatal shells fell into his habi- 
tation, and killed his wife, his mother-in-law, and brother-in- 
law. 

This day Lord Melfort received two letters from Lord Dun- 
dee, with an account of the state of his master's affairs in Scot- 
land; in one of them is the following passage: — "I am glad 
to hear, by your Lordship's letters, that the King's affairs 
prosper so well, and that Derry will soon be ours; but I hear 
it was not on Monday last. I know not what the matter i«, 
but I would think Mackay's going south, and the troops draw- 
ing back from Kintyre towards Edinburgh, would import some 
alarm which they have got. I have so often written over all 
the country that Derry was ours, that now, say what I like. 



174 HISTORY OF THE 

they hardly believe me; and when I talk of relief out of Ire- 
land they laugh at it, though I believe ere long they will find 
it earnest, and then our enemies' confusion will be great." 

On the same day the Earl of Clancarty arrived with his 
regiment in the Irish camp, and being buoyed up by the Pas- 
torini of the day, with the ridiculous prophecy that the gates 
of Derry should fly open at the approach of Mac Cartymore, 
lost no more time in trying the experiment than was neces- 
sary to get himself intoxicated with liquor, and at ten o'clock 
in the night, while the enemy kept up a heavy cannonade of 
bomb-shells, he attacked the works at the Butchers'-gate, and 
few of the garrison being out at the time, he soon possessed 
himself of them, although one of their own shells, which had 
missed its aim, fell among his m.en, and some of them were so 
cowardly as to run close under the walls for shelter from the 
shots they expected to be fired at them. The noise of the ex- 
ploding shell alarmed the garrison, and the light of the com- 
bustibles, ignited and thrown about by it, discovered the as- 
sailants just as Clancarty, drunk as he was, had entered some 
miners in a low cellar under the half bastion, and a horseman 
at the Butchers'-gate had called for fire to burn it. 

Three captains, Noble, Holmes, and Dunbar, with several 
other gentlemen, to the number of sixty and upwards, now 
sallied out at the Bishop's-gate, and crossing along the wall 
till they came very near the enemy's guards, received their 
fire without stopping, advanced to a position which enabled 
them to fire with effect, and then thundered their shots against 
them. The case shot from the bastion, and small shot from 
the walls, seconded the fire of the gallant Noble and his band 
of heroes so efTectually, that Lord Clancarty, finding he had 
been misled by more false spirits than one, got sober enough 
to quit his post and hasten to the main body of his super- 
stitious friends, leaving his miners and one hundred of his best 
men dead upon the spot. Several of his officers and private 



SIEGE OF DERKY. 1 rO 

solJiers were wounded, and as it was reported to tlie garrison, 
died of the injury they received in a {lew days after this action. 
The officers killed wer-c a French Lieutenant-Colonel, whose 
name was not ascertained, Captains M'Carthy and O'Bryan, a 
French and an English Captain, and an English Lieutenant; 
Corporal Macguire and a private soldier were taken prisoners. 
There was but one man killed and one wounded on the Derry 
side, in the sharp engagement of this night. It is only fair in 
this place to acknowledge, that the Irish army had no mono- 
poly of superstition at this period, when death, raging in va- 
ried shapes, tended to paralyze, while it terrified the human 
mind. If the besiegers believed in the prophecy of the pye- 
bald horse, and Clancarty's magical rap at the Butchers^-gate, 
the besieged, according to a credible tradition still preserved 
in the city, were fully assured that at the hour of twelve 
o'clock every night, an Angel, mounted on a snow-white 
horse, and brandishing a sword of a bright colour, was seen 
to compass the city by land and water. 

Nine bombs were thrown into the city upon the twenty- 
ninth of this month. One of them fell in the old church, 
raised five bodies from their graves, and threw one of them 
over the wall. Their scattered remains were immediately re- 
interred, by a subscription from a few gentlemen. During a 
parley this day, one of the garrison was killed at the outside 
of Butchers'-gate, and another on the wall. 

On the last day of June, Governor Henry Baker died ; his 
death was a sensible loss to the besieged, as he was a valiant 
man, showing, says Walker, in all his actions, the greatest 
lionour, courage, and conduct. Mackinzie observes, he was a 
great loss to the garrison, by whom he was justly lamented, 
his prudent and resolute conduct having given him a great in- 
terest among them* Captain Ash represents him as a gentle- 
man greatly beloved, and very well qualified for the govern- 
ment, being endued with great patience and moderation, free 



176 HISTORY OF THE 

from envy or malice, as appeared in the affair between him 
and Mitchelburn, whom he recommended to be his successor. 
He was buried in one of the vaults under the church, the pall 
beino- borne by the Governors Walker and Mitchelburn, Colo- 
nels Lance and Campbell, and Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, 
and Colonel Monro. The Rev. Seth Whittel, Rector of BaU 
lyscullen, preached his funeral sermon. 

On this day, being Sunday, Rosen sent a declaration into 
Derry, that if the garrison would not surrender to him before 
six o'clock in the ensuing evening, he would drive the pro- 
tected and unprotected Protestants from Enniskillen to Charle- 
mont, under their walls, and that in case of their not then sur- 
rendering, he would make a general assault upon them, and 
put them to the sword without respect to age or sex. He 
threatened also to burn and lay waste the country, if there 
should appear the least probability of troops coming to their 
relief. He also wrote a letter to James this day, with a copy 
of his declaration against the Protestants of a considerable part 
of Ulster, and stated that he was induced to adopt this mea- 
sure, from the little hopes he had of reducing the garrison in 
any other way. The trenches, he said, were so filled both by 
the tide and the continual rains, that the besieging army was 
in danger of being destroyed by sickness. The letter is evi- 
dently an intemperate one, and by an independent prince 
would be construed into an affront. Anticipating a counter- 
mand of the cruel order he was about to issue, he threatened 
to resign the command of the army in case his project should 
not be approved; and it appears from Charles Leslie's reply 
to Archbishop King's account of this transaction, that the Irish 
General Hamilton had a serious difference of opinion with the 
French commandant on this occasion, in which almost every 
other officer in the besieging army joined the former. 

Rosen's proposal was received in Derry with contempt, not 
unmlngled with indignation, which produced some heat and 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 177 

disorder in the irascible Mareschal, to which he gave imme- 
diate vent by a renewal of the bombardment on the next 
morning, when twenty shells were thrown into the city; one 
of these fell upon the steeple of the cathedral, and rolled down 
among the bells, doing but little damage: another struck the 
turrets and broke the leads. Rosen now issued his barbarous 
order, dated July 1st, 1689, in which he was unmanly enotigh 
to order the officers under his command to waa;e war against 
women and children. "As I have certain information," he 
says, '"that the wives and children of the rebels in London- 
derry have retired to Belfast and the neighbouring places, and 
as the hardiness of their husbands and fathers deserves the se- 
verest chastisements, I write this letter to acquaint you, that 
you are instantly to make an exact research in Belfast and its 
neighbourhood, after such subjects as are rebellious to the will 
of the king, whether men, women, boys, or girls, without 
exception, and w^hether they are protected or unprotected, to 
arrest them and collect them together, that they may be con- 
ducted by a detachment to this camp, and driven under the 
walls of Londonderry, where they shall he allowed to starve, 
in sight of the rebels within the town, unless they choose to 
open their ports to them," &c. &c. In another paragraph of 
the same order he desires that infants should be included, 
and that none of any age whatever should be suffered to es- 
cape. 

On the second of this month the Derry-men- replied, that 
they had read the Mareschal's threatening letter in their fami- 
lies, and had taken great offence at its contents, by which they 
could understand that no articles or capitulation could be made 
with him ; that his avowed intention of breaking the protec- 
tions already granted, proved that no performance of any new 
promises could be expected from him. They also observed, 
that the copy of the commission granted to Rosen was dated 
on the first day of the preceding month of May, after which 



178 HISTORY or THE 

time a Parliament had passed an act in Dublin, by which their 
lives and properties had been declared to be forfeited, and 
that, therefore, they did not consider him duly authorized to 
treat with them, and desired he would procure another com- 
mission. 

Upon receiving this answer, Rosen caused his orders to be 
put into execution, and beginning with the Protestants in the 
immediate neighbourhood, had them collected in all directions 
into churches and other pubUc buildings, and some of them 
into dirty ponds and rotten houses, without fire or light, after 
having been plundered of their remaining substance and strip- 
ped of their clothes. Many old and tender people, some 
women with child, and feeble children, died by the cruel usage 
they experienced in these places of confinement, and on their 
way to Derry. The Irish officers employed in this melancholy 
service, executed these orders with tears in their eyes, and 
many of them declared that the cries of these victims of cru- 
elty seemed to ring in their ears ever afterwards. General 
Hamilton was so shocked at the sight, that in defiance of Ro- 
sen, his commanding officer, he ordered meal and other pro- 
visions to be distributed among the wretched groups as they 
passed through the Irish camp. When they first came in sight 
of the city, they were mistaken for a column of the besieging 
army advancing to storm it, and to add to their terrors, they 
were received by a volley of small shot from their friends on 
the walls, but providentially none were injured by any of the 
shots, which had no other effect than killing three of the sol- 
diers who were driving them forward with their swords, and 
pushing on those who, from excessive weakness, were faUing 
behind, or tottering on their emaciated limbs. The first divi- 
sion consisted of some thousands, and the compassion they 
excited in the garrison venting itself in a universal burst of 
rage; a gallows was immediately erected for the execution of 
all the prisoners in the city. In the mean time the news of 



SIEGE OF DERKY. 170 

Rosen's barbarous proceeding flew to the metropolis, and 
Doctor Anthony Dopping, Bishop of Meath, went immediately 
to James to prevail on him to rescind the cruel order ; the un- 
fortunate prince coldly replied, that he had heard of it before, 
and had sent orders to prevent its being executed, and apolo- 
gizing for Rosen's foreign habits, observed, that this practice, 
though strange in Ireland, was common in other places; and 
he might have added, that this persecutor, whom he unwisely 
continued in his service after this act of barbarous folly, had 
been employed by the French King to dragoon the Protestants 
of Languedoc, whom he treated with unparalleled cruelty. 
General Maumont was his colleague in that anti-christian 
campaign. The letter, countermanding the driving of the 
Protestants before Londonderry, was dated on the third of 
July, and while it required that they should be sent back to 
their respective habitations without injury, jesuitically approved 
of the pillaging and ravaging of the country in such a way, as 
to leave them no habitations to receive them, or means of sub- 
sistence to keep them from perishing by hunger. In the mean 
time the garrison sent a trumpet to the enemy, with notice that 
they would permit some Popish Priests to come into the city 
to prepare the prisoners in their own way for that death which 
inevitably awaited them if the Protestant multitudes around 
the wall were not permitted to depart. No notice was taken 
of this message, and the unhappy prisoners, acknowledging 
the justice of the retaliation of which they were to be the vic- 
tims, wrote a moving letter to General Hamilton, imploring 
him to represent their sad condition to Lieutenant-General de 
Rosen,* to whom they had made an application without receiv- 

^ Monsieur de Rosen, after his failure to reduce the city of Lon- 
donderry, returned to France, t<^is own great satisfaction, and that 
of all the officers in the army which he had commanded there. He 
was a Livonian, and commenced service in France, in the regiment 
of old General Rosen. His colonel, finding him a man of courage, 



180 HTSTOEY or THE 

ing any answer. They stated their willingness to die like 
soldiers, with swords in their hands, but entreated that tiiey 
should be spared the ignominious death of malefactors. The 
letter was subscribed by another person for Lord Netterville, 
who had lost some of the fingers of his right hand in the en- 
gagement in which he was taken prisoner. It was also sign- 
ed by Sir Garret Aylmer, the Hon, Captain Butler, Mr. New- 
comen, and some others, in the name of the prisoners. Ham- 
ilton replied, by order of his commanding officer, that the 
Protestants, driven under the walls of the city, had to thank 
themselves for that misfortune; that they had conditions of- 
fered them which they might have accepted ; that if the Irish 
prisoners should suffer for this it could not be helped, but that 
their death would be revenged on many thousands. The writer 
here confounds those without the walls with their friends with- 
in ; no terms had been offered to the former; but it is difficult 
to write an uncandid letter with precision. The garrison was 
this night reduced to the number of five thousand seven hun- 
dred and nine men. 

On the second of this month the prisoners taken in the Irish 
boat by Colonel Murray, on the eighteenth of June, were sent 

made him an officer, and at last married his daughter to Iiim. By 
these steps he was enabled to advance himself through the several 
subordinate ranks, and came to be a Lieutenant-General of the 
French cavalry. 

He was an excellent officer, of great bravery and application, very 
fit to be at the head of a v^^ing, but not capable of commanding an 
army, because he was always in fear of accidents. 

In society he was of a very obliging carriage, and magnificent in 
his style of living ; but subject to passion even to a degree of mad- 
ness and at these times he was incapable of listening to any repre- 
sentations. He was made Marshal of France in 1703, and seeing 
that they would not trust him at the head of an army, he retired to 
an estate he had in Alsace, where he died in the year 1714, at the age 
of eighty seven. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 181 

to bury those who had been killed at the Wind-mill and the 
bog, nearly a month before. This delay in burying the dead 
must have contributed much to increase the sickness, which 
now began to prove dreadfully fatal both to the besieged and 
the besiegers. The prisoners, who were of Clancarty's regi- 
ment, performed this unpleasant duty, and returned to their 
place of confinement in the new gate. 

About this time Mr. Andrew Robinson left the city, but on 
account of some imprudent words he spoke among them, the 
enemy stripped him and sent him back again. Captain Wil- 
liam Beatty, who, in all the encounters and skirmishes with 
the enemy, had ever behaved himself with great integrity and 
valour, was also obliged, by a violent dysentery, to accept of 
a protection from the enemy, and he retired to Moneymore. 
In this neighbourhood he lived to rear twelve sons to manhood, 
one of whom was Mr. James Beatty, a merchant in Newry, 
and another, Vincent, the father of the late Ross Beatty, of 
Clones, in the county of Monaghan, and of the late Mr. James 
Beatty, of the Waterside of Londonderry. 

On the third day of this month one thousand was added to 
the number of afflicted Protestants driven under the walls. 
Many of them were taken into the garrison by their friends, 
contrary to orders, and relieved with food and clothing. One 
of these delivered a message to the city from Kirk's fleet, de- 
siring the garrison, if in great necessity, to make two fires 
upon the church, which was instantly done, and they were 
kept burning during the whole of the night, in the course of 
which, and the day preceding it, thirty bomb-shells were 
thrown into the city. One of these fell into the chimney of 
the house in which Captain Ash was quartered; it broke open 
the hearth, threw down some partitions, windows and doors, 
but did no other injury. The besieged took the opportunity 
which presented itself this day, to crowd five hundred of their 
useless people among the Protestants under the walls, and to 



182 HISTORY OF THE 

supply their place took in some young and able-bodied men. 
The stratagem succeeded, although the enemy suspected their 
design, and some of them pretended to distinguish the Derry- 
men by that smell which proceeds from those who have been 
long in confinement, without the necessary change of gar- 
ments. 

About this time a numerous and well appointed army from 
the province of Munster^ under the command of Justin M'Carty, 
lately created Lord Viscount Mountcashel, arrived at Belturbet, 
where it was joined by a body of Northern Papists, com- 
manded by Cohonaght More Maguire. This united force 
amounted in number to 7000 men, who, according to a pre- 
concerted plan, were to attack the Enniskilleners on the south, 
while Sarsfield, with another army, pressed on them from the 
west, and the Duke of Berwick, who lay encamped at Trillick, 
came upon them from the north. An account, however, came 
to them on the third of the month from General Kirk, which 
tended to revive their spirits at a time, when their enemies had 
reason to suppose that, being encompassed as it were in a net, 
all possibility of escape was cut off from them. A ship had 
been sent round from Lough Swilly to Ballyshannon, for the 
purpose of ascertaining the wants of the garrison at Enniskil- 
len, and offer them a supply of ammunition or any other ne- 
cessaries. This was^a most acceptable message, for although 
the soldiers there were tolerably well supplied with arms, from 
the stores they had taken from Colonel Sutherland, yet they 
had but little gunpowder, an article indispensable to their 
safety at this time. Colonel Lloyd, Captain Francis Gore, 
and Hugh Montgomery, with the Rev. Andrew Hamilton, 
were sent on the fourth day of July with some troops of horse 
and companies of foot, to guard what ammunition they should 
get, and to give Captain Hobson, the commander of the vessel, 
an account of the state and condition of their town, and the 
c ountry about it. This day, in the absence of Mr. Hamilton, 



F 



SIEGE OF DERRi'. 183 



the Duke of Berwick came to his dwelling house with two re- 
giments of foot and as many regiments of dragoons; they 
plundered and burned it to the ground, and then destroyed all 
the houses of his tenantry, expressing their regret at not having 
found himself, "to make meat of his flesh for their hawks," in 
revenge for the horses which had been taken from them at 
Omagh some time before, as they alleged, by his contrivance. 
This was a surprise upon the Enniskilleners, in the absence of 
their gallant Lloyd and a considerable proportion of their 
force. The Governor came on the same night to Mr. Hamil- 
ton's ruined habitation, after the enemy had gone from it, 
and his party not being strong enough to follow and attack 
them in their quarters, he returned to Enniskillen, ordering 
strong guards to be kept on all the roads from Trillick to that 
town. 

In the mean time a promiscuous crowd of unfortunate Pro- 
testants lay in a state of extreme misery around the walls of 
Londonderry, and whilst famine and disease prej^ed upon their 
vitals, such was the spirit which animated them, that they 
raised their faltering voices to their friends upon the walls, 
desiring them not to regard their sufferings, but to permit them 
to perish rather than surrender themselves to the mercy of a 
perfidious foe. 

Oreat animosities now arose in the Irish camp on account 
of this cruel treatment of the protected Protestants. The few 
of that persuasion in the army resented it highly, whilst almost 
all the Romish officers condemned it as a base device of their 
French, allies^ m'^hom they began to detest, in resentment for 
the contemptuous treatment they received from them. These 
circumstances, with James's letter condemning the order, and 
above all, the view of the gallows erected on the walls of the 
city for the execution of the Irish prisoners, obliged Rosen, on 
the fourth of July, to suffer the afflicted multitude, amounting 
to more than four thousand in number, to depart for their re- 



184 HISTORY OF THE 



spective habitations. Several hundreds of them, however 
died on the spot to vi'hich they had been driven, and among 
them many women with child, or lately delivered ; several old 
distressed creatures, and a great number of children. 0[ those 
who were this day liberated from durance, many died on their 
way home, or were knocked on the head by the soldiers, and 
those who got back to their former place of dwelling, found 
their homes either burned or plundered by Rosen's soldiers or 
the Irish rapparees, so that a great proportion of them after- 
wards perished for want of the necessaries of life. 

This violation of protections was not confined to the persons 
who had been thus driven under the walls of Londonderry ; 
many of the inhabitants of the county of Down, though they 
had purchased protections, and lived inoffensively, were plun- 
dered of all their substance; and to complete their misery, the 
Irish soldiers violated several of their wives and daughters. 
On complaint being made of these brutal outrages, the answer 
they received was, that these robbers and ravishers had no 
authority for what they had done, and that any further attempt 
they should make might be opposed by force. Satisfied with 
this answer, the unhappy sufferers resolved to defend them- 
selves as they had been permitted to do, but happening to kill 
some of their assailants, they were immediately denounced as 
rebels, and Major-General Buchan was sent against them with 
a body of troops. A massacre ensued, which lasted for seve- 
ral days, in the course of which five or six hundred of them 
were killed in cold blood. Many of the victims were poor, 
aged and weakly people; some killed at their work, when 
suspecting no danger near them. A representation was made 
of this cruel proceeding to James at his Court in Dublin, but 
so far from resenting it, or ordering the perpetrators of the mas- 
sacre to be punished, he railed against the Protestants in gene- 
ral, as false perfidious rebels. They have been killed, he said, 
with my protections in their pockets ; words inconsiderately 



^ 



SIEGE OF DERRT. 185 

spoken, for who could afterwards set any value upon these 
protections, or treat with him on the usual terms of civilized 
warfare? 

As soon as the Protestants were removed by the besieging 
army from the r\eighbourhood of Londonderry, the garrison 
took down the gallows they had erected, and the prisoners in 
the city were sent back to their respective lodgings. At this 
time Governor Walker got intimation from a friend in the ene- 
my's camp, that some mischief was intended against him, and 
he soon afterwards discovered that the soldiers had been per- 
suaded not only that he had secreted a considerable quantit}^ of 
provisions, which ought to have been sent to the public store, 
but that he had pledged himself, on the promise of some great 
preferment, to betray the city to the enemy. 

With respect to the first of these charges, he readily refuted 
it, by causing a strict search to be made in his house; and as 
to the second, he cast off the foul imputation, by arresting a 
Mr. Cole, who, in the preceding month of May, had obtained 
leave to pass from the enemy's camp into the cit}^, by taking 
charge of a proposal from General Hamilton to Mr. Walker, 
which he never delivered, his object in bearing it being only to 
effect his escape. Cole had casually mentioned this circum- 
stance in the garrison, and Walker's enemies magnified it into 
a plot for surrendering the city. They indicated their suspi- 
cions to the Governor by saluting him with high names and 
titles, whenever they met him, and would probably have kin- 
dled a dangerous mutiny in the garrison, had not Cole, on his 
public examination, unriddled the mystery, and restored the 
confidence of the men of Londonderry in their faithful Go- 
vernor. In the mean time the guards upon the out-works had 
several conferences with parties of the enemy, who frequently 
expressed their utter detestation of the French officers and 
soldiers, cursing the fellows who v,'alked in trunks, as they 

q2 



186 HISTORY OF gpHE 

called their jack-boots, and got all the preferments which were 
disposed of in the army. 

From the first of this month to the termination of the siege, 
the officers on duty in the city were appointed to assemble in 
four several -^parts of it, and remain there all night. The 
Colonels, Majors, and Captains, at Governor Mitchelburn's; 
the Lieutenants at Mr. Buchanan's ; the Ensigns at the Bish- 
op's; and the Serjeants at Mr. Stewart's. They went their 
rounds by turns, and the soldiers of each company staid at 
their quarters, except such as were absent on out-guards, with 
their clothes and arms, standing in rank round the quarters, 
and a candle burning all night. The officers were allowed 
candles, tobacco, pipes, and Adam's ale, as Captain Ash calls 
the water they drank ; and at four o'clock every morning two 
great guns were fired against the enemy, serving at the same 
time as a signal, that the regulars who were on duty during 
the night might retire to rest, and that their places should be 
taken by the volunteers and unenlisted inhabitants, to remain 
on the wall till seven o'clock. 

Nine shells were thrown into the city on the fifth of July, 
which injured some houses, and raised a few dead bodies from 
their graves. About the sixth or seventh. Governor Mitchel- 
burn observing but few men about the camp of the besiegers, 
drew out a body of the garrison beyond the lines at the Wind- 
mill, where they had some skirmishes with the enemy, in 
which action an Irish colonel was mortally wounded ; but 
night coming on, and the salliers having got into some con- 
fusion, from mistaking a word of command, they retired back 
to the city. A loud huzza was about this time heard in all the 
camps of the enemy round the city, and care was taken to in- 
form the besieged that it was for joy on the taking of Ennis- 
killen. This, however, was one of the many false reports 
circulated by an enemy depending upon artifice and fraud 
rather than valour and skill, for the attainment of their pur- 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 187 

poses; the men ofEnniskillen, so far from surrendering, were 
at this time strengthening themselves by conveying to their 
stores thirty barrels of gunpowder, with some arms, from the 
ship Bonadventure, commanded by Captain Hobson, and sent 
to their relief by General Kirk. The arms they left in the 
garrison of Ballyshannon, and sent the Rev. Andrew Hamil- 
ton and Mr. John Rider, in the Bonadventure, to the EngUsh 
fleet, for the purpose of obtaining more ammunition, together 
with some experienced officers, and a reinforcement of com- 
mon soldiers. 

Mareschal De Rosen wrote the following letter this day to 
the unfortunate Prince, his master, exhibiting a description of 
the wretchedness of the besieging army at this time: — 

" Cdmj) before Londonderry, 5th July, 1689. 

" Sire, — I am grieved to see so little attention given to the execu- 
tion of your Majesty' orders, at a time when matters are become trou- 
blesome and embarrassed. Kirk is always at his post, waiting the 
arrival of three regiments of cavalry and two of infantry, which are 
to join him under the command of Charles Count Schomberg. There 
is no doubt but this expectation has kept him from making any at- 
tempt to throw provisions into Derry, as he might easily have done 
by hazarding some vessels for that end; yet your troops which have 
been lately sent, have arrived almost in the same condition with the 
former, having been obliged to take such arms with them as were 
given them, the greater part of which are damaged and broken, and 
accordingly useless, as you have not in all your army a single gun- 
smith to mend them ! 

" The troops which are here with Hamilton, are in a still worse con- 
dition, and the regiments entirely lost and ruined; the strongest bat- 
talion having but two hundred men, and more than two-thirds of them 
without swords, belts, or bandaliers. The cavalry and dragoons are 
not the better that they are more numerous, as the strongest company 
has not more than twelve or fourteen troopers able to serve. The 
river which divides your army, and prevents a communication, dimi- 
nishes its strength considerably. The detachment under the Duke of 
Berwick's command, being more than thirty miles from this place, 
weakens it entirely, as he cannot leave the post which he has been 



188 HISTORY OF TFIE 

obliged to take, without allowing the Enniskilleners to possess it, and 
shut us up behind. All this, Sire, together with the embarrassment 
of the artillery and carriages which are here, with very little means 
of conveying them in a country where one is necessarily obliged to 
go by the one road, which is very bad, should now induce you Majes- 
ty to adopt a measure which is of the utmost consequence to the good 
of your service. It is only for this reason 1 humbly beseech you to 
consider this maturely, and to send me instantly your orders about 
what we should do, as T had already the honour to ask in my two last 
letters, to which I have yet received no answer. 

^' I cannot comprehend how the regiment of Walter Butler could be 
sent away from Dublin without swords, and without powder and ball. 
I am still more surprised that Bagnal's regiment has been employed 
to escort the treasure, without giving them a single shot, although, as 
the officers told me, they frequently asked, without being able to ob- 
tain any; yet. Sire, they both of them marched two days quite close 
to the garrison of Enniskillen, in danger of falling a prey to them. 
The garrison of Belturbet is in the same situation, having had, as Su- 
therland told me, but little powder, and not a single ball. My heart 
bleedSj Sire, when I reflect on the continuance of this negligence, 
since it appears to me, that no one is in pain about the ruin of your, 
affairs. I hope that the return of this express will bring me your 
Majesty's ultimate orders; and I wish they may arrive in time enough 
for me to put them properly in execution; having no other object but 
to show you my zeal and attachment for your service, because I am, 
with a very profound respect, submission and loyalty, your Majesty's, 
&c. &c. &c. CONRAD DE ROSEN." 

Six bombs were thrown on the next day into Londonderry; 
and they killed one man and wounded many others. On Sun- 
day, the seventh, eighteen shells fell within the walls, and it 
was observed that until this time no shells were thrown upon 
the Sabbath, although the enemy, in other respects, according 
to their French and Irish habits, regarded it very little. On 
the eighth, they discharged fourteen bombs at the city, one of 
which broke an ensign's leg at the Butcher's gate. A ball, 
weighing fourteen pounds, passing through the gate, killed a 
man in the street. In the course of this night, the Governors 
ordered large pieces of timber to be reared against the outside 



sii:ge of derry. 189 

of the gate, to secure it against the battering pieces. The gar- 
rison was now reduced to five thousand five hundred and 
twenty men, having lost within the six preceding days, no less 
than one hundred and eighty-nine men by death or departure 
from the city. On the ninth, the battering guns played hotly 
against the Butcher's gate, and shattered it very much. Some 
of the balls flew over the town and fell into the riVer. In the 
course of the night, more timber was set up outside this gate, 
and all the ofKcers who were there assisted the soldiers and 
others in carrying sods to it from Ferry-quay gate. The al- 
lowance this day was a pound of tallow, dignified by the name 
of French butter, to every soldier in the garrison. They mix- 
ed it with meal, ginger, pepper, and aniseeds, and made ex- 
cellent pan-cakes. Charming meat, says Captain Ash, for 
during the preceding fortnight horse-flesh was eaten, and at 
this time the carcase of a dog was reckoned good meat. The 
pale and emaciated victims of hunger were every day seen 
collecting wild vegetables and weeds, and all kinds of sea 
wreck, which they devoured greedily, to the total ruin of their 
health. The historical drama already quoted, exhibits a scene 
in the distressed city at this time, calculated to make a deep 
impression on the mind, and characterizing the good humour 
with which some of the severest sufferings of human nature 
were borne by the heroic defenders of Londonderry. 

A servant entering sets down a table, and placing two or 
three dishes on it, brings chairs for the company, which con- 
sists of Mitchelburn, Walker, and four Amazons, who had 
distinguished themselves by many acts of heroism during the 
siege. Mitchelburn then addresses them in the following 
words : — 

" Ladies and Gentlemen, this present coming so opportune- 
ly, I invite you all to a bottle of wine, sent to me by General 
Hamilton, together with such other entertainment for eating 
as our present circumstances will admit of. The first dish 



190 HISTORY OP THE 

you see in slices is the liver of one of tiie enemy's horses, that 
was killed the other day; it is very good meat with pepper 
and salt, eaten cold. I have seven of these livers boiled, and 
after they are pickled they eat very well. This other is 
horse's blood fried with French butter, otherwise tallow, and 
thickened with oaten-meal. The third dish is what we call in 
French, ragout de chien, in English, a ragout of the haunch 
of my dog; it does not eat so well boiled as roasted; it is 
something strong, but it eats best when baked. 1 have a 
horse's head in the oven, very well seasoned, but it will not be 
eatable until night. Give me a glass of wine, and I'll drink 
the ladies' health.- — [^Amazon pulls half a biscuit out of her 
■pocket.^ 

Amazon. — " Fray, Sir, accept of this ; it was given me this 
morning by our captive captain. 

Mitchelhurn. — " By no means, Madam, I'll not rob you of 
so great a dainty. 

Enter a Servant with a letter from Lord Berkshire, ivhich 
the Governor reads. 

" Sir, — Mareschal de Rosen and Lieutenant-General Hamilton 
highly approve of your conduct. They made choice of me, as an 
acquaintance of yours, to send you this letter, to let you know that 
they are very sensible of the circumstances you are in, and so unfor- 
tunate as to engage in a service v/hich will prove your utter ruin. 
You have now a fair opportunity to retrieve your former mistakes, 
and prove loyal; and Mareschal de Rosen and General Hamilton, and 
myself, will engage you shall have a suitable reward, and good pre- 
ferment, which is to put Londonderry into our hands, it having re- 
tarded the great success of his Majesty's arms both in England and 
Scotland. Let this be speedily complied with, your proposals shall 
be readily granted, and sent back signed and sealed by both Generals; 
ten thousand pounds in bills, to be paid you either in England or Ire- 
land, for this great service. " BERKSHIRE." 

Governor. — " I'll send an answer to this immediately. — 
[^Sits doitm and writes, and afterwards reads his ansiver.l^ 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 191 

" Sir, — I perused yours, and am very much obliged to Mareschal 
De Rosen and General Hamilton, for their good opinion of my con. 
duct; if theirs had been as good they would have been masters of this 
town long since. It is our great happiness to meet such an easy 
enemy. I very well know of what importance the place is to the Pro- 
testants of Ireland, and to my master. King William, whom I now 
serve; he is capable of rewarding me, and those under my command, 
without paying us in brass money. As for the ten thousand pounds, 
I value them not a pin, and if your king would give me the church 
full of gold and silver, I will never betray my country's cause. I 
have engaged my honour for the performance, and my word of honour 
I will keep.— Farewell. " JOHN MITCHELBURN." 

' Enter a Servant. 

Servant. — " Here, Sir, is a letter from General Kirk, on 
ship-board. All things go on well in England, and for God's 
sake husband your provisions well, and you will be relieved 
in a short time. 

3Iitchelhurn. — " Campbell, go and write as melancholy a 
letter as you can ; let the Major- General know that we are 
starving, and nothing left us but a few horses, which will not 
last above a week ; when they are eaten we shall be destroyed. 
Tell him, as he values his own honour and reputation, not to 
suffer us to be lost for a little bread. 

Enter two Soldiers, running across the stage, having a 
Spaniel Dog by the tivo hind legs. 

Mitchelhurn. — "What's that the soldiers have? 
Town Major. — '*A dog, which they are going to eat. 
Mitchelhurn. — " I took it to be a kid ; it made my teeth to 
water. 

Enter another Soldier with a Cat, — he runs across the stage 
making her cry. 
Walker.—^'' These soldiers hunt up and down the town for 
dogs and cats, as cat.s do for mice. 



192 HISTORY OF THE 

Enter another Soldier with Mitchelburn's mastiff Dog on 
his back, suspended by the two hind legs* 

Mitchelburn. — " Hold, brother soldier, you should give me 
some share of that dog. — [TAe Governor whistles, the soldier 
drops the dog, and both run away.^ Sure the dogs must be 
very poor, for the people can get nothing to eat, and what 
must feed the dogs? 

Town-Major. — " The dogs go in the night, and tear up the 
graves, and feed on the dead bodies, which fatten them ex- 
tremely, and as soon as they are fat we eat them. We have 
an excellent way of dressing them, seasoned with pepper and 
salt, and baking the flesh with decayed wine which we get in 
the merchants' cellars. 

Mitchelburn. — "Alas, that gold cannot procure us bread! 
These soldiers have eaten all the dogs and cats in the town, 
and if not immediately relieved, we must give up the prisoners 
to be devoured by them next. Better would it be for them to 
be eaten at once than to lie languishing and starving in a dun- 
geon. We have gold enough, but what does it signify; it 
would not afford us one morsel of bread. — [jffe tahes out his 
purse and puts a piece of gold in his mouth.'] There is no 
relish or comfort in it, more than in a stone; a piece of leather 
has more sustenance; yet this is what the world admires, and 
by which it is governed."— [ Takes out his purse and throws 
it against the H)all.~\ 

This day Bryan Macmahon and Hugh Macmahon were 
elected members of the pretended House of Commons for the 
county of Monaghan. Fermanagh sent no members to it, and 
Sir Albert Conyngham, then resident on his estate at Mount- 
Charles, kept the Papists of the county of Donegal in such 
ordfer, that no members were sent from any part of it except 
St. Johnstown, then garrisoned by James's army : Sir Wm. 



SIEGE OF BERRY. 193 

Ellis and Lieutenant-Colonel James Nugent, two gentlemen 
entirely unconnected with the county, were elected to repre- 
sent that borough. Sir Albert Cunningham raised a regiment 
of dragoons at his own expense, which did good service in the 
course of the war, but was not engaged in the defence of Lon- 
donderry or Enniskillen. 

On the morning of the tenth of July ten shells were thrown 
into Londonderry ; some of them fell into the old church and 
opened many of the graves. In one of them, which is now in 
the possession of William Marshall, Esq., Secretary to the 
North-West Society, there was no gunpowder; it contained 
several copies of the following address: — 

TO THE SOLDIERS AND INHABITANTS OF DERRY. 

" The conditions offered by Lieutenant- General Hamilton are sin- 
cere. The power he hath of the king is real ; be no longer imposed 
upon by such as tell you the contrary ; you cannot be ignorant of the 
king's clemency towards his subjects. Such of you as choose to serve 
his Majesty shall be entertained, without distinction, in point of re- 
ligion. If any choose to leave the kingdom they shall have passes. 
You shall be restored to your estates and livings, and have free liberty 
of religion whatsoever it be. If you doubt the powers given to Gene- 
ral Hamilton by the king, twenty of you may come and see the pa- 
tent, with freedom under the king's hand and seal. Be not obstinate 
against your natural prince; expose yourselves no longer to the mise- 
ries you undergo, which will grow worse and worse if you continue 
to be opinionate ; for it will be too late to accept of the offer now 
made, when your condition is so low that you cannot resist the king's 
forces longer. — July 10th, 1669." 

No reply was made to this proposal. This day Rosen 
wrote to the deluded prince, informing him that he had re- 
ceived eighty wagons, five of which were loaded with swords 
without belts, and observing that the soldiers would be obliged 
to carry them constantly in their hands. The other wagons 
were loaded with powder, ball, «Sz;c., and twenty thousand 
pounds in silver. This convoy was sent from Dublin to Lon- 

R 



194 HISTOliY OF THE 

donderry, escorted only by a quartermaster and twelve troop" 
ers, and it lay for three nights within sight of Enniskillerr. 
On the same day a regiment of Irish infantry, with some Scot- 
tish officers, embarked at Carrickfergus in three frigates, com- 
manded by Monsieur Du Quesne, who, in a f^ew hours after- 
wards, meeting v»/ith two privateers, captured them, after an 
hour's hard fighting, with the loss of some of the Scotch of- 
ficers, who were killed. Du Quesne, putting some of his 
equipage on board of one of them, sent it to Dublin, and pro- 
ceeded on his course for Scotland, where he safely landed the 
men he had en board, and this reinforcement, small as it was, 
proved a great encouragement to Lord Dundee, in raising the 
Highlanders to make one great effort in the cause of the un- 
fortunate James. The French officer who commanded the 
two prizes sent by Du Quesne to Dublin, captured another on 
his passage, which had been employed to carry letters from 
Marshal Schomberg to General Kirk and other persons. By 
these letters, it appears that King William intended to send aia 
army of twelve thousand men for the relief of Londonderry, 
upon which the following observation is made in the Life of 
James IL : — • 

" Eifectual order will be taken that this descent shall not find' us 
unprovided; for Derry is vigorously attacked, and Kirk, seeing that 
he could get no succoiir into the place, has landed at a little island 
three miles distant from it, where he is intrenched in expectation of 
succour from England. In the mean time the rebels at Enniskiilert 
are straitened on all sides, and the Duke of Berwick, in a little ren- 
contre he had lately with them, has cut two companies of foot ta 
pieces, and taken several prisoners." 

The latter part of this passage contains a specioien of the 
many falsehoods and exaggerations conveyed to the ear of 
this deluded prince, by the hordes of flatterers surrounding 
him; this cutting of two companies to pieces, as already men- 
tioned, was but the killing of five-and-twenty men> aad the 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 195 

wounding of some others, with the loss of twenty-six prisoners 
by the Enniskilleners, in what they termed the action of Core- 
negrade, on or about the seventh of July. 

The besieging army demanding a parley with the defenders 
of Londonderry on the eleventh of July, the latter thought it 
advisable to grant it, and treat for a surrender of the city. 
Most of the ships they expected to relieve them had disap- 
peared, provisions were growing extremely scarce, and there- 
fore it was an object to gain time by the negotiation. Six 
commissioners were chosen on each side, and Saturday, the 
thirteenth, was appointed as the day of meeting for arranging 
the term.s of the treaty. Colonel Hugh Hamill, and Thomas 
Lance, Captains White and Dobbin, Matthew Cocken, Esq., 
and Mr. John Mackinzie, were appointed commissioners on 
the part of the city; Colonels Sheldon, Gordon O'Neill, Sir 
Neil O'Neill, and Sir Edward Vaudry, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Skelton, and Captain Francis Morrow, were nominated on the 
Irish side. While this m.atter was occupying the attention of 
the officers and chief men of the city, a ball came through one 
of the pieces of timber which barricaded the outside of Butch- 
ers'-gate, and killed a man in the street. In the evening the 
Governors drew five or six out of each company, and sent 
them towards a trench near the gallows, to alarm the enemy, 
and ascertain if there were any great number of them in the 
camp. On perceiving this movement. General Buchan led his 
men down to the ditches at the gallows, which he lined with 
them, as those who had sallied from the city were approach- 
ing with colours flying; upon which Governor Mitchelbiirn 
commanded his men to retire within the trenches, but not be- 
fore some of the enemy came over the ditches and fired a few 
shots at them. This detachment from the city did not behave 
with the spirit which characterized every other body of men 
that sallied from it during the siege. After a short pause they 
dropped off, one- after another, towards Bishop's-gate, nor 



196 HISTORY OF THE 

would they, or any of them, return to the position they had 
left, notwithstanding the orders of the Governors or their of- 
ficers, but stood pushing and thronging each other at the gate, 
which was kept shut for a long time, in order to force them to 
go back. All efforts to compel them to do so proved ineiTec- 
tual, and they got into the city in a most unsoldieriike man- 
ner. This night four shells fell in the city, but did no damage. 
In this and the two preceding days, the report of several pieces 
of cannon in Lough Swilly, excited a strong sensation of hope 
in the distressed city. 

Next day, being the twelfth of July, the inside of Btitchers'- 
gate was secured by heaps of sods and stones, to repel the 
balls from the heavy battery which almost constantly assailed 
it. An ensign and thirteen Irish prisoners were humanely 
liberated this evening, who, while their guards were weak with 
hunger, had been in danger of losing their lives from the same 
dreadful cause. This day the Rev. Andrew Hamilton and 
Mr. John Rider arrived at the English fleet, and went on 
board Major-General Kirk's vessel. They spent two days 
with that officer, giving him an account of the state of affairs 
at Enniskillen, in which, at that time, were about seventeen 
troops of horse, thirty companies of foot, and some few troops 
of dragoons. The foot were tolerably well armed, which was 
not the case with the horse and dragoons. Kirk had but few 
arms fit for horsemen, but he gave these gentlemen twenty 
additional barrels of gunpowder, six hundred firelocks, and a 
thousand muskets, together with bullets and match proportion- 
able, eight small pieces of cannon, and a Cew hand grenades. 
He also gave them commissions for a regiment of horse, con- 
sisting of sixteen troops, to contain fifty private men in each 
troop, besides officers for a regiment of dragoons, consisting of 
twelve troops, with the same number of men in each ; and for 
three regiments of foot, and an independent troop of horse to 
he attached to each regiment; each regiment of foot to consist 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 197 

of eighteen companies, whereof two companies were to be 
grenadiers, and sixty private men in each company. Kirk had 
iio private men to spare, but sent the Enniskillers some very 
good officers, viz. William Wolseley, Esq., to be commander- 
in-chief, and colonel of their horse; Captain William Berry, to 
-be lieutenant- colonel of horse; and Colonel James Wynne, a 
gentleman of Ireland, to command the dragoons. 

Gustavus Hamilton, Governor of Enniskillen, was appointed 
colonel of the first of the three regiments of foot; Lieutenant- 
Colonel Lloyd and Major Tiffen, had the command of the 
other two. Captain Thomas Price, who had also a troop of 
horse, was appointed major-general, and Captain Johnston, 
who had charge of a company of foot, was nominated engi- 
neer. Kirk lay under heavy censure for his delay respect- 
ing the relief of Londonderry ; but Mr. Hamilton, one of the 
messengers on this important occasion, does him the justice 
to say, that as soon as he had been informed of the con- 
dition of the garrison of Enniskillen, of which he had been 
previously ignorant, he granted all that was asked from him, 
and no man could have shown more zeal than he did for the 
service of King William, and the preservation of the Protes- 
tants. 

On the thirteenth the commissioners on the English and 
Irish side assembled near the out-works of Londonderry, for 
the purpose of negotiating a surrender of the city. They all 
dined together in a tent which had been pitched for the occa- 
sion, and debated till night. The besiegers, although they 
consented to all that was material in the articles proposed by 
the garrison, would grant no longer time for the surrender than 
till two o'clock on the next day but one, Monday the fifteenth. 
They required their hostages to be kept in the city, without 
being sent, as the besieged required, to the English fleet, and 
they would allow no arms to be kept, on marching out, except 
by the officers and gentlemen of the city. The Derry com- 

R 2 



198 HISTORY OF THE 

missioners returned to the garrison late in the evening, after 
having, with great difficulty, obtained time till the next day, at 
twelve o'clock, to return an answer. Immediately after they 
got back. Governor Walker received a letter, carried by a 
little boy from the fleet. It was written by Lieutenant David 
Mitchell, who stated that Major-General Kirk had formed an 
encampment on the island of Inch. Walker, to encourage 
the garrison to hold out, transcribed the letter, and specified 
that this encampment consisted of four thousand horse and 
nine thousand foot. Mackinzie accuses him of acting with 
great inconsistency, by advising a surrender, after this ma- 
noeuvre to prevent one; but his apparent preju.dice against that 
great man, and the silence of the gallant Captain Ash on the 
subject, render this accusation nugatory. Walker is not the 
only man who voted for a measure which he had resolved to 
frustrate. 

Mitchelburn desired the usual signal should be made, and 
accordingly on the next morning, before the council met, at 
eight o'clock, to decide upon the answer to be sent to the Irish 
army, seven guns were discharged from the steeple of the ca- 
thedral. Three more were fired at twelve o'clock, and at 
nightfall a lantern, with a strong light in it, was set upon the 
pole which bore the flag. After some debate, the council re- 
turned their answer to the besiegers, that unless they should 
get time till Wednesday, the twenty-sixth of July, and that 
the hostages were in the mean time secured on board the En- 
glish fleet, THEY WOULD NOT suERENDEE ,* as to the manner 
of their marching out, they left that to be debated by their 
commissioners. The enemy refused at once to grant these 
terms, and so the treaty ended, the garrison having gained that 
time by it upon which they had calculated. So incensed were 
the Irish at this disappointment of their hopes, that they scarce 
allowed the commissioners to get within the Dcrry lines, v/hen 
they vented their anger, by a heavy cannonade from their 



SIEGE OF DERBY. 199 

bombs and mortars; but their fury, as usual, was greater than 
their precision, and on this day, though exceedingly loud, did 
very little mischief. 

"Next morning General Hamilton wrote to the Earl of Mel- 
fort, informing him that two packets from the Prince of Orange 
to General Kirk had been taken in a Whitehaven vessel, from 
vvhich it appeared, that a great force had been embarked at 
Liverpool and Chester for ihe relief of Londonderry. Eight 
shells fell in the city to-day; and in the evening about one 
thousand of the besiegers marched to the hill above the strand, 
which caused the Governors to suppose they would attempt to 
force the guard at the wind-mill. They therefore commanded 
a strong party to be marched against them, which they imme- 
diately reinforced by others, upon which the enemy halted and 
fired twelve of their bombs against the city, but without doing 
any execution whatever. One would suppose that the artillery 
men in the Irish camp were secretly of the same creed with 
the Dublin gun-smiths, and as unwilling to practise their de- 
structive art against " the northern heretics." It is certain that 
there was at this time great disaffection and treachery to 
James in his army before Derry; a new sun was rising to 
meridian glory in the political hemisphere, and the chilling 
shades of a long night were gathering fast around the old 
one. 

, The cannon from Tamnemore, on the opposite side of the 
river, however, killed one of Captain Gordon's men, between 
the Wind-mill and the city; after which the enemy retreated to 
their camp, from which the cannonade recommenced after a 
short pause. 

On the sixteenth four bombs were discharged against the 
town, and there is no record of any damage having been done 
by them. A considerable quantity of timber which had been 
outside the Butchers' and Ferry-quay gate was brought in this 
day, and distributed among the soldiers, who were in great 



200 HISTORY or THE 

want of fuel; and a small fort was made of casks filled with 
clay and sods, near the outer side of the royal bastion, to pre- 
vent the enemy from working near the wall. At the hour of 
ten o'clock, in the morning of this day, a small party of the 
besiegers attacked the works opposite Butchers'-gate, and none 
of the garrison happening to be there, soon possessed them- 
selves of them. They were, however, quickly repulsed from 
the walls, the besieged pelting them with stones taken from 
some ruined buildings near them. A few of the assailants 
were killed, and one of them was taken prisoner in this ac- 
tion. In the mean time, two regiments marched out of the 
Irish camp, towards the works on the Wind-mill hill, but see- 
ing the Derry men advance cheerfully to meet them, they 
halted when they had got halfway down, and marched back 
to the other side of the park. The soldiers, who had been 
encouraged to this movement by the gallant Mitchelburn, 
raised a huzza from one end of the line to the other, waving 
their hats in vain to invite the foe to come down to them. At 
the same time, Colonel Murray, with about twelve chosen men, 
went down to flank the enemy's trench before Butchers'-gate, 
and continued firing at them till their ammunition was spent, 
and he was shot through both his thighs, up near the body ; 
the wound proved very dangerous to the life of this distin- 
guished officer, who did not recover of it till the approach of 
the ensuing winter. One of his men, James P^Iurray, was 
killed on this occasion; and a few days afterwards he was 
disturbed in his bed-chamber by a sad accident v/hich occur- 
red there: Lieutenant David Ross entered rudely into the 
room to search for some saddles, which had been lost by Sir 
Arthur Rawdon ; one of Murray's regiment, who happened to 
be there at the time, resented the intrusion by some hasty ex- 
pression ; Ross struck him several times across the head with 
his sword, upon which the dragoon^ taking up his carbine, 
fired at him, and killed him on the spot. Six shells were 



I 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 201 

thrown into the city this night, and the enemy took away their 
battering guns to Brook-hall, where they planted them near 
the boom. 

The sixteenth of July now proved as fatal to James's in- 
terests in Scotland, as the first and twelfth of the same month, 
in the two ensuing years turned out in Ireland, although a sig- 
nal victory v,^as obtained for him on the former of these me- 
morable days. Graham, of Claver-house, Viscount Dundee, 
having long waited with impatience for the succour promised 
to him from Ireland, and intercepted by the vigorous defence 
of Londonderry, gave up all hopes of speedy aid, as soon as 
he saw the few spiritless recruits which arrived to him from 
Carrickfergus, without arms, ammunition, or clothing. He 
therefore resolved to try the fate of a battle, with the forces 
which he had himself collected; and he was induced to make 
the attempt without delay, by the approach of General Mac- 
kay with King William's army towards the Castle of Blair, in 
Athole, where he had left a garrison to preserve a communi- 
cation between the two divisions of the Highlands, in which 
the chief part of his adherents lay. On the morning of this 
day he marched from Dunkeld to the mouth of the pass of 
Killicrankie. The following description of this romantic spot 
is given by Dr. Whitaker, in his book — De motu per Britan- 
niam Civico, pag. 38, London, 1809 : — "Scilicet eo loci mon- 
tana Scotise primum in juga clementiora, inde in planitiem satis 
amplam demissa, a meridie rursus in fauces angustissimas su- 
bito coarctantur, tanquam provide numinis consilio, claustra 
ac repagula adversus barbaros futura. Interfluit tumellus 
amnis, infremens, spumosus. Per medium, ferme clivum per- 
tinet callis vix singulis jam tum permeabilis, nunc milhum 
opera egregie munitus. Infra usque ad alvum, torrentis, de- 
scendunt rupes proeruptse, desuper ubique imminentibus saxis 
levi momento in subeuntes persolvendis. Ad hsec quacunque 
per cautes licuerit internatis arboribus, densa subolcvscunt ar- 



S02 HISTORY OF THE 

busta, ut per otium intuentibus voluptatem simul et horrorem 
locus incutiat ; killicrankio nomen est, (^ramio taodijnen- 
sis, Viri fortissimi nece memorabili." Here Dundee rested his 
men for two hours, after which, adopting the disposition by 
which Montrose's army carried the battle of Arden, forty- 
three years before this time, he detached his clans to the right 
and left, on a mountain which commanded the pass, leaving 
his centre weak; but concealing the feebleness of it by show- 
ing a few men, bonnets, and spears, through the trees and 
bushes with which that part of the ground was covered. Half 
an hour before sunset, he rushed down from this position, and 
impetuously began his attack by columns upon the wings of 
the enemy, drawn up at the mouth of the pass, after having 
used many efforts in vain to provoke him to battle in the regu- 
lar but less advantageous manner. 

His close columns rapidly penetrated through the weak files 
of the opposing flanks of Mackay's army, which soon yielded 
to an irresistible force suddenly brought into action against 
them. The contest immediately became a trial of speed, in 
which Dundee, pressing forward furiously towards the pass to 
cut off the retreat of the English troops, outstripped his men, 
•and io the violence of his impatience at their delay, turned 
round suddenly, raising his right hand over his head, as a sig- 
nal for their advancing, when a random shot from the enemy 
entered an opening of his armour, and mortally wounded him.* 
Dalryraple says he died upon the spot, as soon as a satisfac- 
tory answer had been given to his inquiries respecting the ex- 
tent of his victory. He lived, however, until the next day, and 
in the course of the night wrote a letter to Lord Melfort, 

* The estate of Lord Dundee was granted to the house of Douglas; 
and his widow and children retired to Holland, where, after her se- 
cond marriage, they perished by a dreadful calamity; the house in 
which they resided at Utrecht falling suddenly in upon them, and 
killing every one of the family. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 203 

desiring speedy assistance from Ireland for God's sake; and 
saying that he had been told his wounds were not mortal. A 
letter was found in his pocket after his death, which afforded 
a melancholy proof of the infatuation which could cause a Pro- 
testant of high spirit and distinguished military character, to 
sacrifice his life in the cause of a popish tyrant. The letter 
was written to inform him that a declaration of indemnity for 
Protestant opponents, and toleration of the reformed reli- 
gion in Scotland, had been drawn up in such ambiguous terms, 
that James might break through it whenever he should deem 
it expedient to do so. Death must have been a welcome 
liberation to a gallant Protestant officer, from the degrading 
service of this bigot. Thus perished the cause of Popery in 
Scotland; the Highlanders, on the loss of their chieftain, suf- 
fered Mackay's army to escape while they were plundering 
the English baggage. It was to no purpose that two thousand 
of the latter had been killed, and five hundred taken prisoners. 
The express which was sent to Edinburgh with an account of 
the defeat, was detained by some accident for four-and-twenty 
hours on the way, and when King William heard of that cir- 
cumstance, he observed, with his characteristic sagacity, that 
Dundee must have been dead, or he would have been in the 
metropolis before the express, and that it Wcis unnecessary to 
send any reinforcement to General Mackay. The Highlanders 
who composed Dundee's army were engaged in some skir- 
mishes and drav/n battles for a campaign or two, when they 
dispersed, and a peace was concluded. 

On the day of the battle of Killicrankie, the English fleet, 
which had come round from Lough Swilly to the harbour of 
Culmore, in Lough Foyle, returned to their station off the 
island of Inch, again severely disappointing the hope of relief 
which their appearance had kindled among the defenders of 
Londonderry. A very humiliating task was this day imposed 
upon the unfortunate James, by his m,aster, Count D'Avaux, 



204 HISTORY OF THE 

the French ambassador; it was the issuing of a declaration, 
signed by his secretary, Lord Mel fort, that the subjects of the 
king of France should, as to commercial imposts and en- 
couragements, be treated as Irishmen : that he never would 
refuse permission to transport wool into France, and had posi- 
tively forbidden its being sent into England. He also men- 
tioned his compliance with the demands of D'Avaux, relative 
to the sale of French wines without the payment of duty. 
This was a precious king for a free commercial country. This 
one act would warrant his exclusion from the throne, even if 
the entire population of the realm he forfeited had been mem- 
bers of the Church of Rome. 

On the seventeenth of this month the garrison of London- 
derry was reduced in number to five thousand one hundred 
and fourteen men, having lost two hundred during that and the 
three preceding days; each individual of the army was allowed 
half-a-pound of oatmeal, the same quantity of shelling, as much 
tallow, and three pounds of salted hides. According to a cre- 
dible tradition, a trick was played about this time to deceive 
the enemy, by the belief that so considerable a quantity of 
concealed meal had been discovered in some cellars of the 
city, that no hope could be entertained of their surrendering 
for want of provisions. One barrel of meal was distributed 
upon the bottoms of some large empty vessels, turned upside 
down, and shown in pretended confidence to some messengers 
who had been sent in from the camp of the besiegers. 

General Hamilton wrote this day to Lord Melfort, informing 
him that the whole of the English fleet which had sailed from 
Lough Swilly towards England or Scotland, had returned 
from sea, and was anchored before Ennishowen Point. He 
also stated that about four hundred of the Protestants being at 
Ramullen, the Duke of Berwick, then within ten miles of that 
place, intended to march thither in the middle of the night, and 
attack them before sunrise. At the same time James wrote 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 205 

from Dublin to Mareschal De Rosen, informing him that he 
had received private intelligence, that vessels for transporting 
cavalry had been made ready at Whitehaven, Chester, and 
Liverpool, that ladders and other implements for a siege had 
been put on board ships in the Thames, and that Count De 
Solmes was to command the expedition. He therefore ob- 
served, that it was necessary to execute his design upon En- 
niskillen without delay, and desired that the siege of Derry 
should be pressed closely, ordering him to mention a day on 
which he might expect it would be taken. 

Twelve shells were thrown into Derry on the eighteenth of 
July, and the enemy's battering mortars broke the breast- 
work of the bastion below Butcher's-gate, which was repaired 
that night with barrels and sods. In the course of the day a 
letter arrived in the city, purporting to be from General Kirk, 
promising to be there very soon with relief. Some doubts 
which arose about itJi^uthenticity were done away by Gover- 
nor Mitchelburn's knowledge of the General's hand-writing, 
he having been promoted by him at Tangier. An answer to 
this letter was returned next day, sewed up in one of the mes- 
senger's buttons. A bill passed this day in James's pretended 
Parliament, vesting the goods of all absentees comprehended 
under the act of attainder, in the crown. This unjust act was 
observed to lessen rather than increase the zeal of those em- 
ployed to plunder the houses and lands of the absent Protes- 
tants, because it indemnified them for only half of the amount 
of their seizures, as scarcely even that proportion of persons 
whom they had robbed were included in the bill of attainder, 
which seemed to have chiefly aimed at the possessors of landed 
property. On the next day this Parliament was prorogued, 
and never again assembled. 

Two and twenty shells were thrown into Londonderry on 
the nineteenth of this month, and the battering mortars again 
broke down the breast-work of Butcher's orite. In the mean 



206 klSTORY OF THE 

time a shot from the garrison killed Monsieur Masse, engineer- 
general of the Irish army, shot off the left hand of Captain 
Bourke, and wounded a gunner and two soldiers who stood 
near Colonel Waucop. A second discharge killed two private 
soldiers, and the wind of it passing across Major Geoghegan's 
face, nearly blinded him. General Hamilton now wrote to 
Tyrconnel, informing him that the rebels in Derry were still 
three thousand strong, all good marksmen, and that the entire 
battalions in the besieging army did not exceed the number of 
five thousand men. He added, that if the Duke of Berwick 
should succeed against the Enniskilleners, and join him with 
the army under his command, he had little doubt of being able 
to deal with any succours that might arrive from England to 
the besieged city. On the next day he corrected an error in 
the account he had given of the number of men in Derry, and 
stated it to have amounted to five thousand ; observing, that as 
the garrison there had been diminished by sickness and mor- 
tality, the besiegers had grown weaker from similar causes. 
He acknowledged he had exaggerated in his former letter the 
number of his own army, M'hich fell much short of his state- 
ment, and that the English fleet lay between the island of Inch 
and RamuUen, with the design of collecting as many men as 
possible in addition to the troops on board, and then sending 
an army to join the Enniskillen-men. He stated that Mare- 
schal De Rosen was keeping his bed in a fit of ill humour, 
resolved to meddle with nothing respecting the conduct of the 
siege, and announced that the besiegers would be shortly in 
severe want of provisions, as the country about Derry had been 
drained of all means of supporting an army. 

A copy of the depositions of the general officers of the be- 
sieging army round Londonderry, on the 20th July, 1689, has 
been preserved among Nairne's papers : — Chevalier Charles de 
Carney, rating the garrison at two thousand men and officers, 
did not think that the besieging army, reduced as it has been 



<;[EGE OF DERRV. • 5^07 

by sickness, was in a condition to force the city to surrender. 
Brigadier-General Dominick Sheldon was of the same opinion 
with Carney, but relied on the necessities of the city effecting 
what the Irish force was not competent to accomplish. Gene- 
ral Buchan stated that the town could not be speedily taken on 
account of a want of cannon, and announced a great diminu- 
tion of the besieging army from sickness and desertion. Mens. 
Giradin judiciously recommended that a body of troops should 
be stationed on the Finn water, to prevent a junction of Kirk's 
troops with the Ennlskilleners; this officer apprehended fatal 
results from a scarcity of provisions. The Duke of Berwick 
declared his opinion that it was impossible to take Londonder- 
ry by storm, and that no hope of its surrender could be enter- 
tained except from their want of provisions. General Hamil- 
ton stated that the most essential thing to be done was to pre- 
vent the junction of the Enniskillen-men with the troops which 
had landed at RamuUen, in the county of Donegal, from the 
English ships, and which were receiving a daily augmentation 
from the neighbouring country. He added, that the fleet, 
having left Lough Fo5de, was then anchored between the island 
of Inch and the down of Ramullen, and that the army under 
the command of the Duke of Berwick could not be more ad- 
vantageously posted than at Castlefin, where information re- 
specting the movements of the enemy was most likely to be 
had, and where the most proper measures to oppose them 
might be adopted. He cautioned Lord Melfort against suffer- 
ing the apprehended failure of provisions to ruin the army, and 
mentioned the danger of abandoning the town of Belturbet, in 
case the Irish force there under the command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Anthony Hamilton should advance towards Trillick. 

At this time, provisions being extremely scarce, Mr. James 
Cunningham, a merchant in Londonderry, discovered a method 
for supplying the garrison for six or seven of the severest days 
of want, not only with food, but most salutary medicine. He 



208 ' HISTORY OF THK 

showed them where there was a considerable quantity of 
starch, which they mixed with tallow, and fried as pancakes. 
This food proved a providential remedy for the dysentery 
which prevailed in the city to an alarming degree, from exces- 
sive fatigue, mental anxiety, and unwholesome food. This 
day the Rev. Andrew Hamilton, and his fellow messenger 
from Enniskillen, left the English fleet with the seasonable 
supply of arms, ammunition, officers and commissions, which 
they had obtained from the general on board, who having thus 
sent effectual aid to the Enniskilleners, proceeded himself in 
the Swallow frigate, accompanied by the Mountjoy and other 
store-ships, with thejntention of throwing a relief into London- 
derry. Oatmeal, which before the siege was to be had for four 
pence, was now sold at six shillings a peck; butter for five 
pence an ounce, and all other food that could be procured, was 
proportionably dear. Captain Ash mentions a poor man whom 
hunger had, at this melancholy time, compelled to kill his dog 
and dress the flesh to satisfy the importunate cravings of his 
stomach. Just as he was about to feast on this rarity, an in- 
exorable creditor, equally hungry, came in to demand a debt, 
which he was unable to pay in any other way than by resign- 
ing the carcase of the dead dog to the unbidden guest, which 
he did with a lancjuishinc^ and rueful countenance. This was 
a transaction in which pomp might find physic, and an epicure 
be taught the value of plain food. A proclamjation was issued in 
Dublin this day, by James himself, expressly forbidding Pro- 
testants to wear or keep any swords, under the penalty of being 
counted rebels, and used as such. 

On the twenty-first, a considerable portion of the besieging 
army was seen from Derry marching towards the island of 
Inch, and almost all their tents at Enoch, on the eastern side 
of the Foyle, were taken away. Captain Ash calculated that 
from the twenty-fourth of April to this day, no less than five 
hundred and eighty shells were thrown into the city. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 209 

In this month, three additional companies of Popish soldiers 
were raised for the defence of the town of Galway, and the 
following officers were appointed to command them, viz: — 
Stephen Lynch Fitz Nicholas, Martin French Fltzpeter, Alex- 
ander French and Dominick Kirwan, Captains; Christopher 
Lynch Fitzpeter, James Lynch Fitz Dominick, William Lynch 
Fitz Andrew, and Francis Lynch Fitz William, Lieutenants; 
William Vaughan, Francis Kirwin, Thomas Ryan, and Peter 
Heyne, Ensigns. The Protestant inhabitants were imme- 
diately afterwards removed by the Governor to the west sub- 
urbs, for the better security of the town. 

On the twenty-second, the garrison of Londondery was re- 
duced to the number of four thousand nine hundred and seven- 
ty-three, having lost one hundred and forty-one men in three 
days. Two of the enemy's battering pieces discharged above 
forty shots against the city. One of these sent in a nineteen 
and another a iburteen pound ball, which killed some persons 
who lay in garrets, and wounded many others. This day a 
boy arrived with a verbal message from the Island of Inch, 
stating that the officers had been sent from that place to Ennis- 
killen for the purpose of landing the Protestant army at that 
town, to form a junction with the English forces, and then 
proceed to raise the siege of Derry. He said that the relief 
might be expected in a few days. The messenger who had 
been sent from Derry on the preceding Friday, was presented 
with an ensign's commission by General Kirli. The allow- 
ance to each soldier in the garrison on this day was half a 
pound of starch, with the same weight of tallow, one pound of 
aniseeds being divided among each company, consisting of 
sixty men. 

A letter was this day written by James from his court in the 
castle of Dublin, to Mareschal de Rosen, of which that officer 
sent a copy to General Hamilton, ordering the country round 
Londonderry to be laid waste, and sent such a reinforcement 

s 2 



210 ISI.STOIJY OF THE 

to the Dake of Berwick as would enable him to attack the En- 
niskilleners. In another letter of the same date, he command- 
ed General Hamilton to raise the siege, if he did not think a 
blockade would reduce it; he ordered one Burton, an en- 
gineer, to go to Charlemont, observing, that engineers ap- 
peared to be of small use against Derry, and charging his 
army, in case the siege should be raised, to blow up the fort 
of Culmore, that it should not stand in his way at another 
time. 

This day Captain Chichester Fortescue, of Donaghmore, in 
the county of Down, reckoned one of the best swordsmen in 
Ireland, died in Derry of a dysentery. He had raised a troop 
of dragoons at his own expense, and brought them there, after 
he had been plundered of his chattels, and driven from his re* 
sidence by the Irish rapparees. His wife and children had 
been separated from him in the month of March, at the breach 
of Dromore, from which place they fled into the Isle of Man, 
where they lived in great distress. He was the grandfather of 
Chichester Fortescue, of Dromisken, in the county of Louth, 
member of parliament for the borough of Irvine in 1747. 

On the twenty-third the Irish battering pieces killed two 
brothers, as they lay in a garret in Bishop's-street, and injured 
many houses. At the same time a plot was discovered for 
seizing the gunners, nailing up the cannon, and surrendering 
the city. It was instantly frustrated, and two of the principal 
contrivers of it were cast into prison on a charge of high trea- 
son. During this and the two preceding days, a court martial 
was held for punishing misdemeanours in the city. Captain 
Robert White was president, and the other members of it were 
Lieutenant-Colonel Miller, Majors J. Dobbin and Alexander 
Stuart, with Captains Crook, Godfrey, Johnston, Downing, 
Ash, Thompson, Cochran, and Dobbin. In this court, the 
store-keeper, and those concerned with the excise and the city 
rent, were called to an account, and the money got from them 



SIEGE OF DKltKY. 211 

was applied for the mending of the fire-arms, &c. One pound 
of wheat and the same quantit}'- of grits were this day given to 
each of the officers of the garrison. 

On the twenty-fourth it was resolved, by a council of war, 
that five hundred men should sally out of the city at four 
o'clock next morning, and drive in some cattle that were 
grazing between the out-posts and Pennyburn-mill. All the 
officers were bound to secrecy until the business should be ac- 
complished. The court martial ordered that all the black cat- 
tle in the garrison should be killed for the use of the soldiers. 
In the evening two ships came up to Culmore. This day, 
says Captain Ash, six shillings were offered for the flesh of a 
dog, and horses and cats were eaten. In the course of the 
night a serjeant and a private soldier deserted to the enemy, 
with their arms and clothes. The garrison was reduced to 
the number of four thousand eight hundred and ninety-two on 
the twenty-fifth of this month, having lost eighty-one men in 
three days. At three o'clock this morning, the pass- word 
agreed upon being Obange, two hundred of the garrison sal- 
lied from Ship-quay gate, while eleven hundred remained 
within the ravine for a reserve. Some of the soldiers also 
sallied, at the same time, from Bishop's-gate, but the number 
of them has not been recorded. Those who went out from 
Shipquay-gate were commanded by Captain Francis Wilson, 
Lieutenant Moore, and Serjeant Neely : those who issued from 
Butcher's-gate were led by Captains A. Hamilton, Burly, and 
Ash. They promptly flanked the ditches which ran through 
the orchard, at both ends, according to the orders they had 
previously received, upon which the enemy got into disorder 
and fied in confusion ; so little did they expect so vigorous an 
attack from a bod}- of men whom they supposed to have been 
perishing b}^ hunger, fatigue, and disease, and they were com- 
pletely surprised, not having even one of their matches kin- 
dled. Three hundred of their men and officers were killed: 



212 HISTORY OF THE 

and the execution would have been much greater had not the 
victors been so weakened from hunger, as to be unable to 
make the pursuit as vigorously as the attack had been. Many 
of them were so feeble as to fall in the attempt to make a blow. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Fitzgerald and some other Irish 
ojfficers were killed, and Captain Nugent, Ensign M'Carty, and 
upwards of sixty of the besiegers were wounded. The party 
at Bishop's-gate did not come out till the others were in action, 
but they did good service, under the command of Captains 
Blair and Dixon, and Lieutenant Boyd. 

The enemy on the hill seeing their men quit the trench, 
came hastily down, and obliged the salliers, weak and wearied 
as they were, to retire within their trenches at Bishop's-gate. 
They missed the prey which had attracted them, for on the 
moment of their appearance the Irish drove their cattle away ; 
but they brought off a good store of arms and knapsacks, with 
what was more acceptable than either, had they been made of 
gold, namely, some bannocs of oaten bread, and pieces of mut- 
ton and other meat: they also got several spades, shovels, and 
pick-axes. Some French and English pieces of gold, taken 
from Captain Nugent, were divided between Captain Wilson, 
who took him, and one Burrel, who conducted him into the 
city. An English serjeant got his sword ; but his scarlet coat, 
with its large plate buttons, was returned to him. The Derry- 
men lost but one officer in this action, Lieutenant Fisher, and 
two privates. 

While this business was going on, the serjeant and two pri- 
vates, who had deserted to the enemy on the preceding night, 
were sent back to the city, their arms and clothes having been 
taken from them. The enemy now desired a parley from one 
of their positions near Windmill-hill, and two men of the gar- 
rison, who went out to speak with them, were treacherously 
murdered. In the course of the evening the besieged tried the 
cruel experiment of tying a cow to a stake, and setting fire to 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 213 

her, in hopes of drawing some of those belonging to the enemy 
near enough to be taken ; but she frustrated the effort by break- 
ing loose from the stake to which she had been tied, and would 
have ran into the Irish lines had she not been shot. A sad 
accident happened in one of the guard-houses in the city this 
day, by the blowing up of half a barrel of gunpowder, into 
which a spark of fire had iallen from a tobacco-pipe. It 
wounded and greatly disfigured two of the Irish prisoners, and 
two of the men who were guarding them. 

On the twenty-sixth, the Rev. Andrew Hamilton and Mr. 
John Rider, the messengers between the Enniskilleners and 
General Kirk, arrived at Ballyshannon with the officers they 
had gone for, where they were received with great joy. The 
vessels which carried the arms and ammunition did not arrive 
at that place for two or three days afterwards. An oath was 
this day imposed upon the occupiers of houses and lodgings in 
Londonderry, for the purpose of obliging them to give a true 
account of the provisions in their possession. A competency 
for one week was allowed to them, according to their families, 
and the rest was taken to the public stores. Ensign M'Carty 
and two other prisoners, who had been much hurt on the pre- 
ceding day by the blovi^ing up of gunpowder, were released 
this evening. 

The garrison was reduced, on the twenty-seventh of this 
month, to four thousand four hundred and fift5^-six men. The 
following market prices, from Walker's Diary, testify the ex- 
tent of their sufferings from famine, and the degree of hero- 
ism which animated them in their refusals to surrender: — 

florse flesh, each pound, one shilling and eight-pence. 
A quarter of a dog, fattened by eating dead bodies, five shillings 
and six-pence. 

A dog's head, two shillings and six-pence. 

A cat, four shillings and six-pence. 

A rat, {fattened hy eating human flesh.) one shilling. 

A mouse, six-pence. 



214 HISTORY OF THE 

A pound of greaves, one shilling. 
A pound of tallow, four shillings. 
A pound of salted hides, one shilling. 
A quart of horse blood, one shilling. 
A horse pudding, six-pence. 
A handful of sea wreck, two-pence. 
The same quantity of chickenweed, one pennj. 
A quart of meal, when found, one shilling. 

A small fluke taken in the river could not be purchased for money, 
and was to be got only in exchange' for meal. 

Here it may be observed, that the intermission of the taking 
of salmon and other fish for this and the two succeeding sum- 
mers, made the fisheries of Ulster much more valuable for 
many years afterwards than they otherwise would have been. 
One of the chief causes of the decay of the salmon fishery is 
the unremitted and severe fishery of the rivers, by which 
means a sufficient number of mother fish, as the breeders are 
called, cannot get up to the spawning places, and so there was 
not an adequate stock for the succeeding years. The fisheries 
being usually farmed, those who hold them are interested in 
over-fishing them. 

So great a necessity now pressed the defenders of London- 
derry, that Walker says they had no prospect of subsistence 
otherwise than by eating the bodies of the dead ; and he men- 
tions a fat gentleman of his acquaintance who hid himself for 
several days, because he imagined that some of the soldiers 
who were perishing by hunger, looked at him with a greedy 
eye. In the height of this distress, the spirit and courage of 
the sufferers were so great, that they were frequently heard to 
contend with some warmth in debates, whether they would 
take the debentures they expected from King William, in Ire-» 
land or in France; when, as their Reverend Governor ob-^ 
serves, in his Diary of the Siege, they could not promise them=> 
selves twelve hours' life. To support their spirits among so 
many discouragements, he preached a sermon to them at this 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 215 

time in the cathedral church ; finding his own heart glow with 
confidence that God would not give them over to be a prey to 
their cruel and dastardly enemies, after so long and miracu- 
lous a preservation, he reminded them of several instances of 
the providential support they had experienced since the com- 
mencement of the siege. He dwelt upon the importance of 
their perseverance in the cause of the Protestant religion at 
that time, and, with irresistible eloquence, assured them that 
they would soon be delivered from their difficulties. Mackin- 
zie says, however, that he preached a discouraging sermon at 
this time; but he was unsupported by any other authority in 
this improbable assertion ; and the author of the poem found 
at Armagh, who appears to have been disposed to do ample 
justice to all those whose ministerial labours were conspicuous 
at this time, has the following passage on the subject : — 

" In Saint Columba's Church, now every day, 
The church and kirk did jointly preach and pray ; 
There Doctor Walker, to their great content, 
Did preach against a Popish government. 
Master Mackinzie, preached on the same theme, 
Teaching the love and fear of God's great name, 
Rowat of LifFord did confirm us still, 
He preached submission to God's holy will, 
When our deliverance pass'd all human belief, 
.He prophesied, with truth, a quick relief. 
The same was taught us by the Reverend Crooks -, 
And Hamilton, too, show'd it from his books, 
The ruling elder, Mills, declar'd the same. 
Foretelling aid six weeks before it came. 
While we against the Irish army fought, 
From morn till night these worthy preachers taught ; 
And He from whom all victories proceed, 
Bless'd their great labours in the time of need." 

On the twenty-eighth of July a spy from the city informed 
the Irish army that the garrison had killed all their cows, 
horses, and dogs, and that their only hope was in the relief 



216 HISTORY OF THE 

they expected from the fleet. It is stated in the Life of James 
II., that on this day the Serjeants and private soldiers of the 
city sent out a paper to General Buchan, offering to surrender 
the town to General Hamilton next day, if they could obtain 
some favourable conditions for themselves; this, how^ever, was 
probably one of these false rumours which were spread abroad 
with great industry at this time. 

This morning Captain Charleton lost all the credit of his 
long sufferings during the siege, by quitting the city and de- 
serting to the enemy on the very last day that he could have 
the slightest temptation to do so. 

While affairs were in this critical state at Londonderry, the 
Enniskilleners got notice of the arrival of the Irish General 
M'Carty in Belturbet, with a considerable army, destined to 
besiege their town. On the twenty-eighth the officers sent by 
General Kirk arrived to them by water from Belleek, where 
they had taken boat on their way from Bally shannon. They 
were received on the side of the town which they approached, 
by a guard of honour, the whole garrison firing three volleys 
to welcome them. All the inhabitants and sojourners in the 
town came in great crowds to the place where these officers 
landed, so that they could scarcely m.ake their way to the cas- 
tle, and nothing was heard but loud acclamations, welcoming 
them, and praising God that their English friends had not for- 
gotten them. During this night an account came that M'Carty 
and his army advanced from Belturbet to Crom, where they 
were raising a battery to play upon the castle. The Governor 
was at that time ill of a fever, and Colonel Wolseley, the new 
commander-in-chief, received the express. On the next day, 
being the twenty-ninth, another express arrived from Crom, 
informing the Enniskilleners that M'Carty had begun to batter 
the castle at that place, and had made his approaches very 
near to it. The besieged killed a great number of the Irish 
army with their muskets, but being unfurnished with cannon. 



SIEGE OF DEKHY. ^17 

and fearing the result of a regular siege, they sent this express 
imploring relietl On the same day Colonel Wolseley sent 
them a favourable answer, and for the purpose of their relief, 
recalled the troops from Ballyshannon, except a competent 
number to defend that town, in case Sarsfield, who had ad- 
vanced with- his army to Bundroose, within four miles of it, 
should attempt to take it. 

Intelligence had been brought to Enniskillen on the twenty- 
ninth, that Lieutenant-General M'Carty intended to detach a 
portion of his army next day towards Lisnaskea, and to place 
a garrison in the castle there. In consequence of this, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Berry was sent next morning with seven or 
eight troops of horse, three companies of foot, and two troops 
of dragoons, to anticipate them, by taking possession of the 
castle of Lisnaskea. They had ordei's to place a garrison in 
it if it appeared tenable, if not, to burn it to the ground. 

In the mean time the sufferings of the defenders of London- 
derry approached towards their termination, by the relief of 
that city on the twenty-eighth day of July. Immediately after 
divine service, the ships in the Lough were seen to approach 
the distressed city, now in the last extremity to which famine 
and disease could reduce it. The impression made by their 
appearance on the besieging army, is thus described in the his- 
torical drama so often quoted in this work. 

After a change of scene to the Irish camp, the Generals 
enter, and Hamilton thus addresses them:- — 

"Viewing our out-guards near Ennishowen, and casting my 
eyes towards the harbour, I saw four ships under sail, and 
waiting for about an hour, distinguished their English colours, 
and saw them come to anchor at Quigley's Point. They are 
no doubt provision ships for the relief of the rebels. 

General Sheldon. — " They cannot well pass the fort of 
Culmore and our batteries; and the worst of all will be the 

T 



218 HISTORY OF THE 

boom that lies across the river, and the batteries at both ends 
of the boom. 

Hamilton.— '^^ It is impossible they can escape us. No- 
thing that is made of wood can pass there. Down they sink 
to the bottom. 

Rosen. — " Give orders that if these ships offer to weigh an- 
chor, or hoist sail, the army be immediately alarmed, and drawn 
into their breast-works on each side of the river. 

Waucop. — "We shall sink them if there were an hundred 
of them. The batteries on both sides of the river will dash 
them to the bottom in a moment. 

Enter an OrriCER. 

Officer. — "The ships have weighed anchor, and make all 
the sail they can. The wind and tide favour them. 

Rosen. — "Play the bombs, discharge the cannon, let every 
engine be at work. Now rebels prepare for the halter," &c. 

The defenders of the city, in the mean time, discharged 
eight pieces of cannon from the steeple of the cathedral, and 
slowly waved their crimson flag to signify the extremity of 
their distress. With a fair wind and a favourable tide to 
facilitate the approach of the relief before their eyes, now or 
NEVER was the simultaneous cry of the feeble and emaciated 
multitude on the walls. The ships approaching were the 
Mountjoy of Londonderry, Captain Micah Browning, com- 
mander, and the Phoenix of Coleraine, Captain Andrew Dou- 
glass, master. They were both laden with provisions, and 
were convoyed by the Dartmouth frigate, commanded by 
Captain Leake. The enemy fired incessantly on the ships 
from the fort of Culmore, and from both sides of the river as 
they sailed up, and the returns were made with the greatest 
bravery and effect. They passed the fort without sustaining 
any material injury, and the expectations of the besieged rose 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 219 

into transports of joy, which was ahuost instantaneously suc- 
ceeded by despair, when the Mountjoy, repelled by the boom, 
was run aground, and the enemy, who had crowded in multi- 
tudes to the water side, raised a loud huzza, as they launched 
their boats to board her. The terror which prevailed in the 
city at this moment is not to be described. The multitudes on 
the wall stood petrified in the silent agony of grief, too great 
for utterance; a faint and shrill cry from a few women and 
children, alone broke the dreadful silence, as it added to the 
horrors of the scene. The pallid indications of fear suddenly 
disappearing, was succeeded by a darkness of colour like that 
which marks the countenance seen by the light of sulphureous 
flames. " All features gathered blackness," and the general 
despondency was at its greatest height, when the Mountjoy 
fired a broadside at the enemy, rebounded from the shore, and 
the reaction of the vessel, aided by the sudden swell of the 
rising tide, floated her again into the deep water in the chan- 
nel. Captain Douglass of the Phoenix, was at this time warmly 
engaged as he passed up, on the breaking of -the boomj by the 
gallant Browning, who, while his vessel lay aground, was 
killed by a musket-ball from the enemy, which struck him 
upon the head as he stood upon the deck with his sword drawn, 
encouraging his men to the contest. King William after- 
wards settled a pension upon the widow of this gallant man, 
and in presence of the court, placed a gold chain about her 
neck. A portrait of this lady in full dress, ornamented by the 
royal present, is in the possession of her descendant, George 
Hamilton, Esq. of Hollymount, near Londonderry. Four of 
Browning's gallant crew shared his fate just as the vessel got 
afloat; and then the Dartmouth opened a heavy and well- 
directed fire upon the enemy's batteries, diverting them so 
from both vessels, that amidst a desponding yell from the 
crowds on each side of the river, they sailed up slowly indeed, 
by reason of a failure in the wind after they had passed Cul- 



220 HISTORY OF THE 

more, but steadily and majestically, to the utter confusion of 
their baffled enemies. It was ten o'clock in the night, when 
they anchored at the Ship-quay, upon which a general shout 
of acclamation was raised by the soldiers on the walls, and re- 
iterated several times, while two guns were fired from the 
steeple, to give notice to the fleet of the safe arrival of the re- 
lief. Sir John Dalrymple, with his usual elegancy, says that 
this supply of provisions was received in Londonderry with 
silent gratitude, as if it had been a gift from heaven ; not with 
the noisy rejoicings usual on such occasions. Captain Ash, 
however, who was an eye witness, tells us the reverse; and 
the record of the Armagh poem is, that in the overflow of joy, 
the bells of the cathedral chimed their melodious notes, while 
bonfires were kindled through the city, and cannon thundered 
from the walls. With respect to the long devout procession to 
the church, with which Dalrymple rounds his period, no men- 
tion is made either by Walker or Mackinzie, neither of whom 
would be unlikely to notice a circumstance so creditable to the 
religious feelings of their interesting congregations; and the 
fact is, that, at that hour of the night, while the towai's-men 
were eagerly unloading the vessels, after forming a barricade 
by casks filled with earth against the heavy fire of the enemy, 
it would have been almost impossible to have accomplished so 
desirable an object as the collection of the garrison to a gene- 
ral thanksgiving. 

The Phcenix contained from six to eight hundred bolls of 
meal, with which she had been laden in Scotland; and the 
Mountjoy carrying one hundred and thirty -five tons burden, 
brought from England her cargo of beef, pease, flour, biscuit, 
&c. all of the best kind. "This relief," says Walker, "ar- 
rived here to the inexpressible joy and transport of our dis- 
tressed garrison, for we only reckoned upon two days' life. 
We had only nine lean horses left, and one pint of raeal to 
each man. Hunger and fatigue of war had so prevailed 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 221 

among us, that of seven thousand five hundred men regimented 
at the commencement of the siege, we had now alive but about 
four thousand three hundred, of whom at least one-fourth part 
were rendered unserviceable." 

The besieging army continued a heavy fire on the city 
from their trenches during a considerable part of this night and 
next day, when they were seen burning several houses in the 
neighbourhood. One of these, according to tradition, was 
Prehen-house; and another, as stated in the Armagh manu- 
script, was the mansion of Sir Matthew Bridge, at Brook-halL 
The castle of Raphoe was burned down at this time, and was 
not rebuilt for some years afterwards; Bishop Cairncross ex- 
pended about a thousand pounds in re-edifying it. 

In the course of this night the Irish army ran away from 
the position which they had occupied before Londonderry for 
one hundred and five days, having lost eight or nine thousand 
men and one hundred of their best officers, in their abortive 
attempt to reduce the city. Most of these fell by the sword, 
the rest died of fevers and dysentery, and a venereal disease 
of the most inveterate kind, and which appeared in a very re- 
markable manner on the bodies of several of their dead officers 
and soldiers. 

Early on the morning of the first of August, the garrison 
sent out detachments to see what was become of the enemy. 
They saw them on their march, and following them, took 
some of their grenadiers prisoners in the act of burning the 
Protestant houses six or seven miles from the city, near St. 
Johnstown, on one side of the river, and the old Abbey of 
Grange on the other. Some, however, were tempted to pur- 
sue the retreating enemy too far, so that a rear guard of ca- 
valry turned upon them and killed seven of them. Those who 
fled on the Tyrone side burned the church of Leckpatrick; 
but a protection, unexpectedly offered by an Irish officer to the 
Reverend John Sinclair, rector of that parish, saved his house 

t2 



222 HISTORY OF THE 

at Holy-hill, just as the retreating rapparees were putting fire 
to the roof of it. The messenger swam across the river with 
the protection, for which service he obtained a considerable re- 
ward. The adjoining village of Ballymagorry was consumed 
to ashes. 

On the Donegal side, scarcely a Protestant house from 
Derry to Lifford escaped being burned, except that of Keys, 
of Cavanacor, to whom James had granted a protection on his 
return to Dublin. The want of cavalry in Derry, and the 
exhausted state of almost all the garrison, alone saved the Irish 
army from a prompt and destructive pursuit. On their arrival 
at LifFord and Strabane, they heard such accounts of the suc- 
cess of the Enniskilleners in Fermanagh, that they gave up 
their intention of forming encampments at these towns ; broke 
four of their great guns in pieces, threw twelve cart-loads of 
arms into the river; and in their haste to get towards Charle- 
mont, out of the reach of a triumphant enemy, marched off 
precipitately, leaving many of their sick and wounded men 
behind them. 

On the termination of the siege, the governors, officers, 
clergy, and other gentlemen in the city and garrison of Lon- 
donderry, sent the following address to King William and 
Queen Mary, by the renowned Walker, who was received at 
court with all the honour due to his eminent services : — 

" We, the most dutiful and loyal subscribers of this address, out of 
a deep sense of our late miserable state and condition, do hereby re- 
turn our due acknowledgments to Almighty God, and to your sacred 
Majesty, and under you, to the indefatigable care of Major- General 
Kirk, for our unexpected relief by sea, in spite of all opposition of our 
industrious, but bloody and implacable enemies ; which relief was not 
less wonderfully than seasonably conveyed to us, and that in the very 
nick of time, when we, who survived many thousands who died here 
of famine during the siege, were just ready to be cut off, and perish 
by the hand of barbarous, cruel, and inhuman wretches, who no 
sooner saw us delivered, and that they could not compass their 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 223 

wicked designs against your Majesty's city, and our lives, for which 
they thirsted, than they immediately set the country around us on 
fire, after having plundered, robbed, and stripped all Protestants 
therein, as well those persons they themselves granted protection to, 
as others. We do therefore most sincerely rejoice with all our souls, 
and bless God for all his singular and repeated mercies and deliver- 
ances ; and do for ever adore the Divine Providence for your Majes- 
ties' rightful and peaceable accession to the imperial crown of these 
kingdoms, the proclaiming of which was justly celebrated in these 
parts with universal joy ; and we do, with all humble submission, 
present to your sacred Majesties our unfeigned loyalty, the most va- 
luable tribute we can give, or your Majesties receive from us. And 
since the same Providence has, through much difficulty, made us so 
happy as to be your subjects, we come, in like humility, to lay our- 
selves at your royal feet, and do most heartily and resolvedly offer 
and engage our lives and fortunes in your service. And further, we 
do most unanimously join in a firm and unchangeable vow and reso- 
lution, of improving all occasions of becoming serviceable to your 
Majesty in what station soever it shall please God and your Majesty 
to place us, and will expose ourselves to all hazards and extremities, 
to serve your Majesty against the common enemy. From all which 
promises, vows, and services, we and every of us promise, without 
any exception or reserve, not to recede until our lives end. 

"In testimony of all which we have hereunto subscribed our names 
at Londonderry, this 2Gth day of July, Anno Domini 1689. 

George Walker. Arthur Hamilton. 

John Mitchelburn. Michael Rullack. 

Richard Crofton, James Stiles. 

Thomas Lance. James Cunningham. 

Hugh Hamill. Archibald M'Culloch. 

Charles Kinnaston. Francis Obre. 

William Campbell. Alexander Sanderson. 

Gervais Squire. Archibald Sanderson. 

William Grove. Arthur Noble. 

John McClelland. Philip Dunbar. 

James Graham. George White. 

William Thompson, Thomas White. 

James Young. James Gladstanes. 

Richard Cormack, John Maghlin. 

Oliver Upton. Adam Murray. 



224 



HISTORY OF THE 



Alexander Knox. 
Patrick Moore. 
John Humes. 
Robert Denniston. 
Marni. Stewart, 
James Fleming. 
Andrew Grigson. 
Christ. Jenny. 
Thomas Smith. 
Barth. Black. 
John Campbell. 
Robert Morgan. 
Michael Clenaghan. 
Richard Fane. 
Stephen Godfrey. 
William Hamilton. 
Robert Rogers. 
James Galtworth. 
Richard Islen. 
James Blair. 
Dudley Philips. 
John Buchanan. 
Edward Curling. 
William Church. 
Dalway Clements. 
Albert Hall. 
Matthew Cocken. 
Thomas Burnett. 
William Stewart. 
Francis Wilson. 
Matthew M'Clelland. 
George Crofton. 
William Babington. 
Robert King. 
John Logan. 
Alexander Rankin. 
Edmond Rice. 
Robert Walker. 
James M'Cormick. 
John Cochran. 



Henry Murray. 
Henry Campsie, 
John Dobbin. 
Alexander Stewart. 
Thomas Guthredge. 
Thomas Johnston. 
Thomas Nev,?comen. 
John Halshton. 
Joseph Gordon. 
James Hairs. 
Andrew Hamilton. 
Adam Alcock. 
Robert Wallace. 
George Church. 
Richard Fleming. 
Henry Cust. 
John Crofton. 
Benjamin Wilkins. 
Thomas Lane. 
Joseph Johnston. 
Robert Baily. 
Daniel M'Custion. 
John Baily. 
Robert Lindsay, ' 
Francis Boyd. ■?*' 
James Carr. 
William Montgomery. 
James Moore. 
Nicholas White. 
John Fuller. 
Thomas Keys. 
Frederick Keys, 
Thomas Baker. 
John Hering. 
James Huston. 
Adam Downing. 
Abraham Hillhouse. 
John Mulholland. 
Robert Bennett. 
William Dobbin. 



SIEGE OP DEERY. 



225 



James M'Cartney. 
Warren Godfrey. 
John Cunningham. 
Henry Lane. 
George Walker. 

Hamilton, 

Andrew Bailly. 
Edward Davys. 
John Hamilton. 
Thomas Ash. 
Robert Boyd. ^' 
P.alph Fullerton. 
Michael Cunningham. 
Robert Skinner. 
Richard Robinson. 
Robert Maghlin. 
Matthew Clark. 



George Garnett. 
James Barrington. 
Henry Pearse. 
Alexander Ratcliffe. 
Thomas Adair. 
John Hamilton. 
Henry Everett. 
Daniel Fisher. 
John Cross — Wm. Crosa. 
James Tracy. 
Bernard Mulholland. 
David Mulholland. 
Thomas Conlay. 
John Clements. 
William Manson. 
Theophilus Manson. 
James Manson. 



The Enniskilleners, under the command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Berry, marched on the last day of July from Lisnas- 
kea, towards the enemy, who lay about six miles from them. 
They had not proceeded more than two miles, when the scouts 
discovered, at Donough, a considerable body of horse and foot 
coming towards them, upon which they fell back to the main 
body, and all retreated towards the post they had moved from 
that morning, the enemy still advancing towards them. As 
they were double the number of the troops under Berry's com- 
mand, he very judiciously continued his retreat till he got to 
more advantageous ground, having taken care to send off an 
express to Colonel Wolseley at Enniskillen, acquainting him 
with the situation of his army, and desiring prompt assist- 
ance. 

Of two roads leading to Enniskillen from Lisnaskea, Berry 
took that which had a short time before been made through 
bogs and low grounds, nearer to Lough Erne than the old 
way, as being more secure, and having several passes on it 



226 HISTORY or the 

much easier to defend than the other. On this road he re- 
treated in good order, the enemy still following him at some 
distance, till he came to a narrow causeway across a bog, 
about a mile from Lisnaskea. Two horsemen could scarcely 
pass abreast at this part of the road, which was about a mus- 
ket-shot in length, and here Berry resolved to halt and repel 
the enemy till the arrival of the expected aid from Enniskillen. 
He placed his infantry and dragoons in a thicket of under- 
wood at the end of the causeway, drawing a body of horse a 
little further off as a reserve, with which he proposed to sup- 
port the other, and he gave the word " Oxford." 

In a very short time. Colonel Anthony Hamilton, second in 
command under M'Carty, came in view with a considerable 
body of men. Alighting from his- horse, he ordered the dra- 
goons with him to do the same, and very bravely advanced 
near the end of the causeway, his men firing briskly at the 
Enniskilleners. It pleased God, however, on this, as well as 
many other occasions during this campaign, that after many 
volleys of shot from the Irish, not one of them took effect upon 
the Protestants, who being better marksmen, killed twelve 
or fourteen of them on the causeway, and wounded Colonel 
Hamilton in the leg. On receiving the wound he retreated a 
little, and mounting his horse, ordered another officer to lead on 
the men. Their second commander, with some of the private 
soldiers, fell dead in a few minutes from the shots of the ambus- 
cade in the thicket, upon which the rest began to retreat, while 
their opponents, raising a shout, and crying out that the rogues 
were running, took the bog on each side of the narrow road 
over which the horse passed back with rapidity, and quickly 
turned the retreat into a disorderly flight. The Enniskillen 
horse soon overtook the foot soldiers and dismounted dragoons, 
among whom they made a great slaughter, chasing them 
through Lisnaskea, and nearly a mile beyond it. The loss 
on the Irish side would have been much greater had not Colo- 



SIEGK OF DERRY. 227 

nel Berry found it prudent to retreat, in consequence of infor- 
mation that General M'Carty, with the main body of the Irish 
army, was advancing towards him. He therefore sounded a 
retreat, and brought back his men to the thicket at the end of 
the causeway where the engagement began, having killed 
about two hundred of the enemy, and made thirty prisoners, 
which he sent to Enniskillen, with several horse-load of arms, 
which he had also taken ; all this was done before nine o'clock 
in the morning. At eleven, an express arrived to Berry, that 
Colonel Wolseley, who had taken the old road, had come up 
to his relief, and ordered him to advance and form a junction 
with him at the moat above Lisnaskea. This was done im- 
mediately, and after some necessary consultation, the whole 
united body, consisting of sixteen troops of horse, three troops 
of dragoons, and twenty-one companies of foot, with some ir- 
regular troops, in all about two thousand men, advanced 
against the enemy, having given the word " No Popery." 
This gallant band had little or no provisions with them, but 
the victory obtained by Berry with a small body of them in 
the morning, encouraged them so much that they unanimously 
resolved to fight their way to the enemy's provision carts, ra- 
ther than return to Enniskillen for their dinner. 

Colonel Wolseley sent on the forlorn hope about half-a-mile 
before his army. Colonel TifFan led the first battalion of foot, 
consisting of about five or six companies, supported by a few 
troops of horse. Colonel Lloyd commanded the second bat- 
talion of infantry, consisting of nearly the same number, se- 
conded in a similar manner by cavalry. The main body of 
foot was led on by Colonel Wolseley himself, followed by the 
rest of the horse, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Berry and Major Stone. 

In this order they marched from Lisnaskea to Donough, 
through which they passed, and within half a mile of it got in 
view of the enemy's forlorn. About the same distance from 



228 HISTORY OF THE 

Newtownbutler, they discovered the Irish army posted very 
advantageously on a steep hill, commanding a long and nar- 
row causeway through a bog, by which way only it could be 
approached from that side. The Enniskillen army, however, 
advanced against them with steadiness and vigour. Colonel 
TifFan, with his battahon of foot, entered the bog on the right 
hand of the causeway, while Colonel Lloyd, with the body 
under his command, pushed on in the same direction on the 
other side. Colonel Wynn's dragoons, divided into two equal 
parts, supported TifFan and Lloyd on foot. Lieutenant-Colonel 
Berry advanced at the same time on the causeway with his 
horse. Colonel Wolseley bringing up the main body in the 
rear, to send reinforcements to those who went before him, as 
occasion should require. In the mean time, the enemy very 
injudiciously exhibited a proof that they thought their position 
untenable, by setting the town of Newtownbutler and the 
houses in its neighbourhood on fire. After a weak opposition, 
the Enniskilleners gained the pass, and pursued them through 
Newtownbutler, and near a mile beyond it. The retreating 
army fell back in good order, and again took a position simi- 
lar to the last one they had occupied, securing the narrow 
causeway leading to it by a piece of cannon. The pursuing 
army, making the same disposition as before, found the pas- 
sage of their horse impeded by the fire of the cannon, till the 
foot advancing by degrees through the bog on each side killed 
-the cannoneers, and rushed ^on towards the enemy on the hill, 
upon which the Irish horse took fright and fled towards Wattle- 
bridge, deserting their foot. The foremost in this disgraceful 
flight was Lord Clare's regiment of horse, called the Yellow 
Dragoons, from the colour of their facings. The tale of their 
dishonour is yet told in the barony of Moyarta, near the mouth 
of the Shannon, where they had been raised. It is told in the 
way of dialogue, in which a person supposed to have witnessed 
the scene says, " Stop, stop, Yellow Dragoons!" to which one 



SIEGE OF DERRT. 229 

of them replies, "not till I get to the bridge of Clare!" another, 
*' no, no, till we come to the ford of Moyarta !" Captain Mar- 
tin Armstrong, with a troop of cavalry, did great execution on 
these fugitives. The Irish infantry, now abandoned by their 
horse, and closely pressed by the Enniskilleners, fled into a 
large bog, towards Lough Erne on the right hand, throwing 
away their arms into the turf-pits as they went. An open 
country lay upon their right, through which they might easily 
have escaped ; but with their usual want of presence of mind 
it did not occur to them to prefer it. They were followed by 
the Protestant foot through the bog, into a wood near the 
Lough, where no quarter being given to any but officers, five 
hundred of them took the water, and of these only one man 
escaped drowning; he got away safely by good swimming, 
though many shots were fired after him. During the whole 
of this night the pursuers were beating about the bushes for 
the Irish, and their officers were unable to recall them from 
the pursuit till next morning, by which time scarcely a man 
who had fled from them into the bog escaped death. There 
was a very remarkable stroke given by Captain William Smith 
in this battle: with one blow of his sword he cut off the upper 
part of a man's skull, just under the hat. As much of the 
skull as was within the hat, with all the brains it contained, 
was struck away from the under part of it, and not so much as 
a fibre of the skin remained to keep them together. General 
M'Carty, whom James had a short time before created Lord 
Mount-Cashel, remained Vv'ith five or six officers in a wood 
iiear the place of action, from which he rode out suddenly and 
fired a pistol on those who were guarding the artillery. A 
shot from one of them immediately killed his horse under him, 
and a musket was clubbed to knock out his brains, when he 
received quarter from Captain Cooper. Being asked, why he 
hazarded his life so rashly, when he might have gone off with 
his cavalry, he replied, that as he saw the kingdom was likely to 

u 



230 HISTORY OF THE 

be lost with his own army, which, with the exception of that 
before Derry, then much broken, was the best in King James's 
service, he came upon the artillery guard with a design to lose 
his life, and was sorry he had missed his aim, being unwilling 
to outlive that day. 

This was probably the greatest victory which had ever been 
obtained over the Irish. They amounted to six thousand men, 
and were thus routed by one-third of that number. In the 
morning and afternoon of the day, two thousand of them were 
killed; five hundred, as already mentioned, were drowned in 
Lough Erne; and their general, with a great many other offi- 
cers, and four hundred prisoners, were sent to Enniskillen. 
The Irish confessed that three thousand of their men were 
wanting, when those who remained arrived in Dublin, but they 
would not own that so many had been killed as had been re- 
ported : in shame for having been defeated by an army so in- 
ferior in number, they alleged that the chief loss was by de- 
sertion on their retreat. They lost seven pieces of artillery, 
fourteen barrels of gunpowder, a great quantity of cannon and 
musket balls, all their drums, and every stand of colours which 
they possessed. The loss on the side of the Enniskilleners 
was only two officers. Captain Robert Corry and Ensign Wil- 
liam Bell, with about twenty private men, who were killed. 
The victors would now have marched to Dublin, as the Irish 
apprehended, to their great terror and consternation, and in all" 
probability have carried all before them, had they not disco- 
vered, by a letter found in General M'Carty's pocket, when he 
was taken, that the Duke of Berwick, with an army from 
Derry, was to be at Enniskillen on a certain day, when Colo- 
nel Sarsfield, the writer of the letter, would invest it on the 
Connaught side with his army, then at Bundroose. The vic- 
torious army therefore returned with their prisoners and plun- 
der to Enniskillen. 

On the second day of August, they went to meet Sarsfield 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 231 

on his way from Bundroose, but before they had got halfway, 
an express arrived to them from Captain FoUiot, informing 
them that the Irish army at Bundroose had retreated to Sligo, 
and that the arms and ammunition intended for them by Ge- 
neral Kirk had been landed at Ballyshannon. Three troops 
of horse and as many companies of foot were sent to besiege 
it, and the rest returned to Enniskillen, resolved to go in quest 
of the Duke of Berwick's army, in Donegal. But on the 
fourth of the month, they heard of the relief of Londonderry, 
and so contented themselves with sending Lieutenant William 
Charleton with a troop of detached horse, to hang upon the 
retreating enemy's rear, and watch their movements. He re- 
turned to Enniskillen in three days afterwards, and reported 
that he had seen the rear of them pass by Castle Caulfield, 
within three miles of Dungannon, on their march to Charle- 
mont. On the seventh, a solemn day of thanksgiving was ob- 
served in Enniskillen, for the great victory which God had 
given them over their enemies, and for the peace which they 
enjoyed by it, after the doubts and terrors of a bloody cam- 
paign ; and after divine service, the following address from the 
governors, officers, clergy, and other inhabitants of the town, 
was drawn up and sent to King William and Queen Mary. 
The bearer of it was the Rev. Andrew Hamilton, Rector of 
Kilskerry, in the diocese of Clogher, who, like his admirable co- 
temporary, George Walker, was the recorder of the actions of 
his fellow-soldiers, as well as their counsellor in the hour of 
doubt and suffering: — 

" We, your Majesties' most faithful and loyal subjects, do, in the 
first place, offer up unto Almighty God our most humble thanks for 
the deliverance vouchsafed us from our merciless and bloody enemies ; 
and, next, unto your most sacred Majesties, for your gracious care 
taken of us, in sending Major-General Kirk, to the relief of the poor 
handful of your Majesties' Protestant subjects, left in this place and 
Derry, whose miraculous holding out, under God, has been the pre- 
servation of t.Ke Protestant interest in this kingdom; and for those 



232 



HISTORY OP THE 



worthy officers sent to this place by him ; among which, the Honour- 
able Colonel William Wolseley. our Commander-in-chief, under whose 
great and happy conduct, God has been pleased to bless us with the 
most signal and remarkable victory obtained over our enemy, in this 
or the former age. And as we were early in the demonstration of our 
loyalty, in proclaiming your most sacred Majesties on the eleventh of 
March last, so we shall persevere in the same dutiful allegiance to our 
lives' end, ever imploring the Divine Majesty to continue your pros- 
perous reign long over us ; most humbly begging your most sacred 
Majesties favourably to accept this Address of our most humble and 
sincere obedience, whicli we shall ever be ready to make good both 
with our hearts and hands. 



GrsTAVuj 
Thomas Lloyd. 
Thomas Hart. 
Edward Dixy. 
Daniel Hodson. 
William Smith. 
Morgan Hart. 
Alexander Acheson. 
Isaac Collyer. 
George Dury. 
Thomas White. ' 
William Wiseheart. 
Robert Moore. 
Arnold Cosby. 
Jo. Price. 
Robert Johnston. 
James Graham. 
William Parsons. 
Ambrose Bedell. 
H. Hughes. 
Jason Hazard. 
Thomas Hughes. 
Ichabod Skelson. 
Henry Howel. 
Robert Stevenson. 
William Birney. 
James King. 
Jo. Rider. 



Hamilton, Governor. 

Francis Folliot. 
John Dean. 
Francis Graham. 
William Irvine. 
Francis Aldrich. 
Thomas Roscrow. 
Matthew Webster. 
William Slack. 
Allan Cathcart. 
Andrew Hamilton. 
James Johnston. 
James Golden. 
Robei't Sterling. 
Henry Johnston. 
Robert Wear. 
Malcolm Cathcart. 
Robert Robinson, 
James Matthews. 
Martin Armstrong. 
Claud Bealy. 
Nivian Scott, 
Thomas Armstrong. 

Jo. Frizzle . 

Daniel Armstrong. 
Matthew Young, 
Marcus Buchanan. 
George Watson. 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 



23a 



Christopher Carleton. 
James Devitt 
Charles Mac Fay den. 
Laurence Crow. 
Edward Ellis. 
William Blashford. 
Robert Clark. 
William Browning. 
James Johnston. 
James Browning. 
Roger Wilton. 
Edward Wood. 
F. King. 
Robert Drury. 
John Browning. 
Andrew Montgomery. 
Daniel French. 
Henry Smith. 
Richard New stead. 
Francis Ellis. 
Hercules Ellis. 
John Corry. 
Joseph Neper. 
James Corry. 
John Sheriffe. 
George Corry. 
Samuel Forth. 
James Cathcart. 
Edward Cosbye. 
William Mac Corraick. 
William Campbell. 
MlJharles King. 
Hugh Montgomery. 
George Cooper. 
Hugh Cathcart. 
Hugh Corr}^. 
Edward Davenport. 
Aubry Ellis. 
Joseph Woodward, 
William Gore. 



Ro. Mac Connell. 
James Robinson. 
Jo. Roberts. 
Robert Ward. 
Bar. Gibson. 
Joseph Crozier. 
Hugh Blair. 
Joseph King. 
Thomas Young. 
John Fulton. 
George Hart. 
James Matthews. 
Thomas Johnston. 
William Johnston. 
Thomas Osborne. 
Thomas Scott. 
John Lawder. 
Wilham Kittle. 
James Lucy, 
John Armstrong. 
Toby Molloy. 
Robert Vaughan. 
James Mitchell. 
Matthew Lindsay. 
Thomas Davenport. 
Allen Fulton. 
Paul Dean, Provost. 
James Ewart. 
Joseph Ballard. 
Thomas Shore. 
Richard Taylor. 
Edward Gubbin. 
Thomas Leturvel. 
George Hammersly. 
William Frith. 
Joseph Hall. 
Robert Johnston. 
Cornelius Donnellan. 
Theo. Bury. 
Hugh Galbratth. 



u 2 



234 HISTORY OF THE 

William Charleton. William Ross. 

George Russell. John Galbraitli. 

Aylet Sammes. Matthew Young. 

James Campbell. James Delap. 

George Cashel. William Ball. 

Povey Hooks. Joseph Smith. 



The seventeenth signature to this address was that of Cor- 
net James Graham, of Mullinahinch, in the County of Fer- 
managh, great-grandfather of the author of this work. On 
the fourth of August, Captains White, Dobbin, and Flamilton, 
with the Rev. Thomas Jenney, of Mullaghbrack, and the Rev. 
John Knox, of Glaslough, were sent by the Governor to con- 
gratulate Major-General Kirk on his arrival in the city, and 
to thank him for having sent relief to it. Colonel Crofton had 
waited on him at Inch, desiring permission to lead out two or 
three hundred men to preserve the Protestant houses in the 
neighbourhood from destruction, and to secure a great quan- 
tity of cattle, which were likely to be lost to their rightful 
owners. This proposal was unfortunately rejected, and the 
consequence was, that in a few days afterwards some small 
parties of the Irish that remained after the retreating army, 
burned Newtown-Limavady and several gentlemen's houses 
in the county of Londonderry. 

On the arrival of the Major-General, Governor Walker 
presented him with the keys of the city, and wishing to return 
to his sacred profession, as soon as the dangers which had 
called him from it had passed over, offered a surrender of his 
military command. Kirk declined to accept of either, but 
allowed Walker to dispose of his regiment as he pleased, and 
was given by him to Captain White, as a token of respect for 
that gentleman's known merit. 

Walker then departed with the address to King William, of 
which the unmerited compliment to the unfeeling Major-Gene- 



SIEGE OP DERRY. 235 

ral formed the only objectionable part. Kirk then issued se- 
veral proclamations; one of these required, that all persons 
not in arms should repair to their respective habitations ; a 
command reasonable enough, had troops been allowed to pro- 
tect the country from rapparees, and if they had been per- 
mitted to take their substance with them. A particular order, 
however, was necessary for the removal of their goods, by 
which means, many who were compelled to remove from the 
city, were obliged to leave their beds and other necessary 
clothes behind them, so that they returned to their plundered 
habitations but ill provided for the approaching winter ; and 
a considerable number of them, whose cattle had escaped from 
the hands of the enemy, were now robbed of their stock, great 
droves of which were brought to the city. Mackinzie accuses 
Colonel Mitchelburn, to whom Kirk gave the government of 
the city, of selling those cattle at a high rate to butchers and 
other purchasers; but this gallant officer, whose fair fame, 
like that of Walker, was assailed with great virulence at this 
time, was honourably acquitted of this and many other un- 
founded charges. 

The men and officers were now drawn out to the field by 
regiments, and they went out the more cheerfully, because it 
had been reported that Kirk would have distributed two thou- 
sand pounds amongst them; in this, however, they were 
disappointed, and many of the officers were doomed to be 
discarded to make room for the General's favourites. The 
regiments of Mitchelburn and Crofton were united, and the 
latter officer reduced. The regiment of Hamill, of LilFord, 
was joined with Walker's, under the command of Captain 
White, to the severe injury of one of the most distinguished 
defenders of the city. Hamill went to London to remonstrate 
against this unjust act, and to solicit compensation for his 
losses, and a remuneration for his acknowledged services. 
The tradition, in Lifford, records his disappointment: his only 



236 HISTORY OF THE 

reward, according to it, being a civil reception and the present 
of a gold laced hat. But crowned heads cannot always afford 
to be generous, and too many just claims inevitably cause a 
bankruptcy of gratitude. Walker, as already noticed, fared 
better, and the widow of Captain Browning was honoured with 
a gold chain and a pension. 

The regiment of Munro was incorporated with that x)f Lance, 
and its commander reduced. An effort was made to add Mur- 
ray's heroic cavalry to another regiment, but almost to a man 
they indignantly refused to submit to this arrangement, and 
went away to their different habitations with their carbines and 
pistols. Kirk seized their saddles, and to consummate his vil- 
lany, robbed Murray of his favourite horse, which had carried 
him victoriously through all his rencontres with the enemy, 
and which he had preserved through every vicissitude of the 
siege. There is no record of this injured hero's receiving any 
satisfaction for this gross injury, much less a suitable reward 
for his distinguished services. The largest of the estates forfeited 
at this time would have been small enough to offer him; and 
if he had a competitor in the number and importance of his 
services, it was Major Arthur Noble of Lisnaskea, in the county 
of Fermanagh, who also went unrewarded in any other way 
than by an approving conscience and the enjoyment of liberty. 
Captain St. John was made Colonel of the regiment which had 
belonged to Governor Baker, and to which Kirk wished to join 
Murray's. This being done, the General named new captains 
to most of the companies, for the purpose of making provision 
for many dependants who had followed him from England; 
these officers had the nomination of their own subalterns, so 
that almost all the officers who had served during the siege, 
including many who had raised their companies, were, by this 
cruel proceeding, put out of the profession in which their ser- 
vices had highly distinguished them. Of those who were al- 
lowed to retain their companies which they had raised and 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 237 

armed at their own expense, many were compelled to give up 
fifteen of their men, to fill up the regiments whose new oflicers 
had not the means of recruiting them, and they were obliged 
to make up the deficiency on penalty of a dismissal from the 
king's service. This was deeply resented in the garrison, and 
cast a shade over the general joy at their late happy deliver- 
ance from slavery. One of the captains took the liberty of 
uttering a complaint, and instead of obtaining redress, was 
threatened with a gallows which Kirk had just ordered to be 
erected outside of the ravelin. Orders were also given to the 
sentries at the gates that no person should be allowed to pass 
out of them with any arms, and some who were passing out 
when the order came, were disarmed in consequence of it. 
This unexpected treatment seemed very harsh to the defenders 
of Londonderry, who could not conceive on what grounds they 
could be deprived of those arms which they had so lately used 
in a vigorous and successful defence of the civil and religious 
liberties of their country. The weak and sickly soldiers had 
no allowance from the public stores, which were shut up by 
Kirk's order immediately after his arrival from Inch, and his 
cruel policy in this respect obliged th®m to leave the city and 
beg their bread as well as their weakness would permit them 
to do so in an exhausted country, during one of the wettest 
seasons which had occurred for many years ; the consequence 
of which was, that a great proportion of these deserving men 
perished by hunger and disease. 

The new-modelled regiments which remained in the city 
were so straitened in their means of subsistence, that it was 
with difficulty they could maintain themselves. The following 
account of their means of subsistence may be deemed a curious 
statistical document; colonels daily pay, five shillings; lieu- 
tenant-colonels three shillings; majors two and six pence; 
captains two shillings; lieutenants twelve pence; ensigns eight 
pence; Serjeants, corporals, drummers and private men, three 



238 HISTORY OF THE 

pence. The Enniskilleners were put upon the same scanty 
allowance ; their heavy horsemen were allowed but nine pence, 
and their dragoons only six pence a day. 

On the seventh of August, the garrison of Enniskillen, after 
a public thanksgiving for their great victory over General 
M'Carty, sent the Rev. Andrew Hamilton to Major-General 
Kirk, to congratulate him on his happy success on the relief 
of Londonderry. He was received very favourably by that 
officer, who sent him back on the ninth of the same month, 
with orders to Colonel Wolseley to send him five hundred 
horse and two hundred dragoons, with which, and the force 
which he had newly modelled, and incorporated with his own 
army, he marched in a few days afterwards to join Duke 
Schomberg in besieging Carrickfergus. 

To pursue the narrative of the actions of the men of Lon- 
donderry and Enniskillen* any further at this time, would 

* A vindication of Governor Walker's account of the Siege of Der- 
ry was published in London about the close of the year 1689, con- 
taining the following passages, which may with propriety be inserted 
here, viz : 

" Mr. Walker is upbraided with the imperfection of his account of 
the siege. This matter he will not dispute with his accusers, for it is 
impossible it could be otherwise, or that the little time and conve- 
nience he had to be exact in such a thing could prevent it. He is the 
more willing to allow this, because two very extraordinary things oc- 
cur to him, which at the writing of that book he had forgotten, and 
they being so considerable in demonstrating that providence which at- 
tended the defence of the town, and that was so remarkable in its 
deliverance, he begs to insert them in this paper. 

" In the account of the Siege you may find that people every day 
were going out of Derry, the enemy by that means had constant intelli- 
gence, and we had reason to be under great apprehension and con- 
cern, more especially for our ammunition; we therefore considered 
how to preserve that, and having a great quantity of it in Mr, Camp- 
sie's cellar, we removed it to another place. The very next day after 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 239 

swell this volume to a size beyond the limits necessarily as- 
signed to it, and it remains only to transmit to succeeding 
generations a record of one of the celebrations of the shutting 
of the gates of this city, that which took place on the recur- 
rence of the centennary anniversary of that memorable event, 
in proof that the spirit of the men of Derry has continued 
through the lapse of time as unchanged and unchangeable as 
the genius of that intolerant Church, which first called it into 
action, and still keeps it on the alert, notwithstanding all the 
iTiiserable efforts of shallow politicians to extinguish it, and 
prostrate our Church and Constitution at the foot of an im- 
placable foe : — 

On the fifteenth of October, 1788, John Conyngham, Mayor, 
David Ross, and H. Mitchell, Esqrs. Sheriffs, and Stephen 
Bennett, Esq., issued a notice that the Mayor and Corporation 
of Londonderry, zealous to revive in the breasts of the Protes- 
tant generation, and transmit to posterity such principles as 
actuated their heroic ancestors, had resolved on a secular com- 
memoration of the return of that memorable day, the seventh 
of December, 1688, when the gates of their city were closed 
against a bigoted tyrant, a day so honourably interwoven with 
that grand tera of our Constitution, the Glorious Revolu- 
tion, which to our happy experience, has been terminated by 
extensive and elaborate provisions for the general liberty. On 
the fourth of November ensuino-, beinij the eve of that memo- 



we had removed it a bomb broke into the cellar, and if our gunpowder 
had been there, we would certainly have been destroyed. 

" Another thing of as great moment was omitted, and that was, a 
bomb from the enemy broke into a cellar near Butcher's-gate. Some 
had the curiosity to examine what mischief it had done, and there they 
saw seven men lying dead, that had been working at a mine unknown 
to us, and that if it had not been for so miraculous a countermine, 
they might have gone on with their work and ruined us." 



240 HISTORY OF THE 

rable day which, under the sanction of ihe Act of the I7th 
and 18th of Charles II., commonly called the Act of Uniformi- 
ty of Public Prayers, a day of public commemoration of the 
deliverance of Kikg James I. and the Protestants of England, 
from the most traitorous and bloody intended massacre by 
gunppwder, and also for the happy arrival of King William 
for the deliverance of our Church and nation, has been ap- 
pointed, and a form of prayer and thanksgiving for these bless- 
ings inserted in the Liturgy ; a meeting was held in the Town- 
Hall of Londonderry, when it was unanimously resolved, that 
the proposal of the Mayor and Corporation should be most 
cheerfully acceded to, and that a secular commemoration of 
the SHUTTING OF THE GATES should be held. It v/as also re- 
solved, that a public monument should be erected, to com- 
memorate that glorious event, and a committee of the Corpo- 
ration, consisting of Messrs. Bateson, Achison, Moore and 
Schoales, should be added to those appointed by the Corpora- 
tion; Mr. Bateson to be Treasurer, and Mr. Achison, Secre- 
tary. 

On Thursday, the seventh of December, (O. S.) 1788, the 
dawn was announced by the beating of drums, the ringing of 
bells, and a discharge of the cannon which had been used 
during the siege; and a red flag, the emblem of a virgin city, 
was displayed on the cathedral. If a magistrate or military 
officer had interfered to prevent the hoisting of this flag or the 
ringing of these bells on this occasion, he would have been 
sent to a lunatic asylum, and the mob of all denominations 
would have- pelted him with stones on the way. The city was 
almost immediately in motion, each person seemed eager to 
bear his part in the rejoicings of the day, and the glow of honest 
enthusiasm was apparent in every countenance. 

At half past ten o'clock the Procession was formed upon 
the Ship-quay, and moved off in the following order: — 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 241 

The Corporation and City Regalia. 
The Clergy. 
Officers of the Navy. 
• Forty sixth Regiment. 

Londonderry Associated Volunteer Corps. 

Committee and Stewards. 

Merchants and principal Citizens. 

Merchants' Apprentices, preceded by Mr. Murray, the great grandson 

of Colonel Murray, carrying the sword with which his gallant 

ancestor slew the French General Maumont. 

Tradesmen's Apprentices. 

The Young Gentlemen of the Free-School. 

Masters of Ships, and Seamen. 

It is scarcely possible to do justice to the beautiful and au- 
gust appearance exhibited at this stage of the solemnity, nor 
was it easy to behold, without the most hvely emotion, so re- 
spectable a body of free citizens, thus pubhcly commemorating 
the heroic achievements of their ancestors, on the very spot 
which v/as the scene in which they were performed, a spot 
which should be as dear to the inhabitants of the British isles, 
as the plains of Marathon were to the ancient Grecians. But 
the show itself, distinct from the occasion, was extremely 
splendid ; every thing was suitable and becoming, nor was 
any circumstance omitted that could add dignity to the scene. 
The universal vv-earing of orange ribands had a very happy 
effect, and the band of citizens, however otherwise respectable, 
received a vast addition to its interest from the elegant appear- 
ance of the Stewards who preceded them, and consisted of the 
following young gentlemen of the city, dressed in a handsome 
uniform of blue and orange, viz :-— George Schoales, George 
Curry, Andrew Ferguson, George Knox, Roger Harrison, and 
William ArmiStrong, Esqrs. 

The Cathedral could not possibly have admitted the multi- 
tude who composed the procession, had not every necessary 
precaution been used. The city never, never before witnessed 

X 



242 HISTORY OF THE 



1 



SO throng an assembly ; the galleries, the aisles, and all the 
avenues of the church were crowded, and many hundreds re- 
turned unable to obtain entrance. 

Divine service being performed, an admirable sermon was 
delivered by the Very Reverend Dean Hume. His text was 
Joshua iv. 24. Nothing could be better adapted to the occa- 
sion, or more replete with just and elevated sentiments. After 
the sermon, a selection of sacred music was performed from 
the Oratorio of Judas Maccabseus, in which that fine air, so 
well suited to the occasion, " 'Tis Libehty, dear Liberty 
ALONE," seemed to give the highest satisfaction to the au- 
ditory. 

From the church the procession marched in the same order 
to the meeting-house, where the Rev. Mr. Black delivered an 
oration, which evinced at once his knowledge of British his- 
tory, and his ardent zeal for liberty. 

On returning from the meeting-house, a scene unexpectedly 
presented itself to the eye, as novel as it was agreeable to the 
beholders: his Majesty's ship, the Porcupine, commanded by 
Captain Brabazon, appeared in tlie harbour. She was com- 
pletely dressed, or rather covered over with a variety of the 
most splendid colours, and formed a spectacle equally majestic 
and beautiful: she came on purpose to do honour to the fes- 
tival. On approaching the quay she was saluted by a dis- 
charge of twenty-one guns from the ramparts, which she re- 
turned with an equal number. The Sea-flower, a cutter be- 
longing to his Majesty's navy, accompanied her, and added to 
the grandeur of the show. So large a ship of war was never 
before seen in the harbour of Londonderry. The Dartmouth, 
by which the city was relieved in 1689, came nearest to her 
in size, and it is not unworthy of remark, that the point of 
time in which the Porcupine and Sea-flower appeared, was the 
very same in which the Dartmouth and Phoenix were first dis- 
covered by the distress(?d garrison, viz: when the citizens were 



SIEGE or DERRY. 248 

assembled at divine service in the cathedral. Thus, by a 
happy coincidence, the approach of those vessels formed a 
most lively representation of that memorable event, the re- 
lief OF Londonderry. The first procession had scarcely 
terminated when another of a different kind commenced. 
Some of the lower class of citizens had provided an effigy re- 
presenting the well-known Lundy, executed in a very hu- 
morous style, with a bundle of matches on its back ; with this 
they perambulated the streets, and having repeatedly exposed 
it to the insults of the zealous populace, they burned it in the 
market-place with every circumstance of ignominy. This 
piece of pageantry afforded no small entertainment to innume- 
rable spectators, nor was it barren of instruction to an atten- 
tive mind, as it marked out, in striking characters, the una- 
voidable destiny of Traitors, who, having sacrificed to their 
own base interests the dearest rights of honour and conscience, 
are deservedly consigned over to perpetual infamy, and be- 
come everlasting objects of detestation even to the meanest of 
the people. 

At two o'clock the forty-sixth regiment and the volunteer 
corps paraded. The Apprentice Boys' Company, command- 
ed b}'' Captain Ben net, went through the ceremonial of shut- 
ting the gates, supported by the regulars and volunteers in 
columns. They then returned to the Diamond with King 
James's colours in triumph, where a feu-de-joie was fired, in 
concert with the batteries upon the ramparts, and the ships in 
the harbour. 

At four o'clock the mayor and corporation, the clergy, the 
officers of the navy and army, the clergy of the Church of 
Rome, the gentlemen from the country, the volunteers, citi- 
zens, scholars, and apprentices, &c., sat down to a plain but 
plentiful dinner in the Town-Hall. The toasts were constitu- 
tional, and well suited to the occasion; no man was idiot 



244 HISTORY OF THS 

enough to object to drink to The Glorious Memory of that 
great Prince who saved the religion of the Protestant, and the 
liberty of all other professors of Christianity. The assembly 
was necessarily mixed, and extremely crowded, the guests 
amounting nearly to a thousand persons, and yet regularity, 
decorum, and complacency, pervaded the whole company. 
Religious dissensions, in particular, seemed to be buried in 
oblivion, and Roman Catholics^ vied with Protestants in ex- 
pressing, by every possible mark, their sense of the blessings 
secured to them by the event which they v/ere commemo- 
rating, and the part which they took in the celebration of this 
joyful day was really cordial, standing on record in strong 
contrast with the brutal ignorance of the agitators of the pre- 
sent day, who load the name of their deliverer with obloquy, 
and consider the honours paid to his memory as an insult to 
their religion. 

Among the guests, on this interesting occasion, was a man 
who had been actually present at the siege; born a short time 
before the investment of the city, he was nursed in a cellar 
during the whole of that memorable time. The company 
were much struck with the singularity of the circumstance, 
and gazed with intense interest upon the venerable old man, 
who had breathed the same atmosphere with the immortal 
Walker, Mitchelburn, and Murray. A subscription was set 
on foot, for the purpose of raising the necessary means of 
protecting this veteran from the icy grasp of poverty in ex- 
treme old age. 

In the afternoon the soldiers were liberally entertained in 
their barracks; and several houses were opened for the ac- 
commodation of the sailors, where they were plentifully re- 
galed with beef, punch, &c. &c. 

The windows of the Town-Hall were ornamented by splen- 
didly illuminated paintings, designed and executed by the in- 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 245 

genious Mr. Black. The subjects and disposition of them 
were as follows, viz : 

FERRY-QUAY STREET. 

The shutting of the gates by the Apprentice Boys. 

BISHOP STREET. 

The genius of Londonderry fixing the imperial crown upon the 
head of King William, and trampling on a figure representing des- 
potism ; at the top was the date of a proclamation, made in this city, 
of the accession of that great prince and his illustrious consort to the 
throne, March 20th, 1689. 

BUTCHER'S STREET. 
A monument : upon the right of the basement, the Rev. George 
Walker, with a sword and Bible, and under it a trophy, with the 
date of his appointment. On the left Colonel Murray; at his feet 
the body of the French General Maumont ; and beneath, a trophy, 
with the date of the combat, April 21, 1689. In the centre of the base- 
ment was exhibited a view of Londonderry. On the centre of the 
pyramid, a figure of Fame, with a laurel, bearing a medallion, in 
which the genius of the Maiden City appeared in contest with a tiger. 
At the top an urn. 

SHIP-QUAY STREET. 

The Relief of Londonderry, a view from the barrack rampart. 
The British ships appeared emerging from the smoke, after the break- 
ing of the boom, the garrison rejoicing in different attitudes. At a 
distance King James's army striking their tents, and retiring in con- 
fusion. 

Besides these, niany transparent pictures appeared in differ- 
ent parts of the town. The houses were splendidly illumi- 
nated, and a grand display of fire- works, from Ship-quay gate, 
concluded the entertainments of the evening. 

On the following day the festival was continued ; and, that 
every class of people might have some entertainment, suited to 
their peculiar taste, the carcass of an ox, decorated with orange 

X 2 



246 HISTORY OF THE 

ribands, was drawn at noon through the principal streets to 
the Diamond. It was afterwards cut into pieces, and distri- 
buted with bread and beer to poor house-keepers. 

In the evening the iestival was concluded with a ball and 
supper. The company was more numerous than had ever 
been seen on any former occasion, yet every thing was con- 
ducted with propriety and regularity. The general decorum 
that was preserved, both at the ball and at the entertainment 
the preceding day, vms owing, in a great degree, to the gentle- 
men who acted as stewards. The committee deserved much 
applause for this well-judged arrangement, and the gentlemen 
themselves were entitled to the thanks of the citizens for their 
care in preserving good order, and in accommodating the com- 
pany. During the continuance of the festival the weather 
was peculiarly favourable; and we learn, with very great plea- 
sure, that no disagreeable accident happened, although the 
contrary might have been feared, from the prodigious multi- 
tudes that thronged together, especially at the cathedral and 
the meeting-house on Thursday. Throughout the whole of 
this business no sentiment was more universally observable 
than that of love to the Sovereign, The day had scarcely 
dawned when " God save the King," sounded from the bells; 
with the same tune the Procession was both received and 
dismissed at the cathedral. It was the favourite song in the 
entertainment on Thursday, and it was sung in full chorus at 
the ball on Friday. In short, it was apparent, that, although 
the joy natural to the occasion was strongly felt and univer- 
sally diffused, it was deeply blended with an affectionate con- 
cern for our beloved and afflicted Monarch. 

Thus terminated the festival. Judicious in its origin, re- 
spectable in its progress, and happy in its conclusion. The 
event and its commemoration, it may be said, were worthy of 
each other. No religious animosities, no illiberal reflections 
on past events poisoned the general joy and triumph. The 



SIEGE OF DEREY. 247 

genius of Ireland seemed to preside, repressing in the Protest- 
ants all irritating marks of exultation, and exciting in the 
members of the Church of Rome the feelings of thankfulness 
for the deliverance of their persons and properties from the 
shackles of a lawless and intolerable despotism.. 



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THE NOVELTIES WHICH DISTURB OUR PEACE. 

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THE BIBLE IN SPAIN, 

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LIEBIG'S FAMILIAR LETTERS ON CHEMISTRY, 

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JAMAICA ; 

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Puhlisliing in Numbers: 

SCOTT'S COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY BIBLE. 

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Chisiiaii Mirror. 

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pi^ 




SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY, 



DEFENCE OF ENNISKILLEN, 



1688 AND 1689. 






1881 



BY T IE '^ W*..-«' 



Rev. JOHN GRAHAM, M.A., 

RECTOR OF TAMLAGHTAPJ IN THE DIOCESE OF DERRY. 






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PEILADELPHli: 



JAMES M. CAMPBELL, 98 CHESTNUT 
NEW i^ORK : SAXTON «&' MILES 
1844. 

\ 



' street; * 



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JAMES M. CAMPBELL, 

NO. 98 CHESTNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA, 

Publishes the folloioing Valuable Worhs: 

D'AUBIGNE'S HISTORY OF THE REFORMATK»N IN GEE 
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03= A New Edition, with all the notes and references. ^ 

LLORENTE'S H [STORY OF THE INQUISITION. 

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THE LIVES OF POPE ALEXANDER VI., AND HIS SO^ 
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FATHER CLEMENT. 

A Roman Catholic Story. Duodecimo. Paper, 25 cents. 

A VOICE FROM ROME, ANSV^ERED BY AN AMERI ^ 
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ANOTHER VOICE FROM ROME.— ROME'S ^OLICY 
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Or Papal Efforts to Suppress the Scriptures in the last Five Ce 
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By an American Citizen, author of A Voice from Rome 

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FOX'S BOOK. OF MARTYRS. 

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THE ERRORS OF ROMANISM, 

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AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOURSE ON THE RISE 
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THE LITTLE STONE AND THE GREAT IMAGE; 

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D.D., President of Miami University, Ohio. Octavo, ^^ot! 
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